IronDeku
by Luciendar
Summary: A lot of moments defined the life of young Izuku Midoriya. One small change can change it all. When one such changes happens, how will it change the life of our heroic protagonist? Where will it lead him? And how does this bubbly pink-haired girl fit into things? Stays somewhat close to canon at times, others not at all. MinaIzuku, IzukuMina, DekuMina.
1. The Choice

**A/N: Alright everybody, welcome to my story. The first chapter is very short and it follows fairly closely to the main story. I'll make sure to post the second chapter soon so don't worry. After this first chapter, I intend for most chapters to be between 3k to 6k. This is a IzukuMina story for those who like that pair and I'll go into why she's my favorite at the very end. So here we go!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 1: Making A Difference**

It's amazing how our parents can influence our lives. A push in one direction or the other, a word of encouragement, even just a little belief can go a long way in shaping the people we might become. Adversely, the same can be said for negative reinforcement. This was the choice presented before, one, Midoriya Inko when she found out her son had no quirk.

We all know the tale of how she gave up hope for her son. We know that he basically gave up hope in himself and was nothing but a fanboy. Fate decreed that the boy be a hero and put All Might in his path. But what if things had been different? Would he still be a top hero, successor to All Might, or would he be a hero at all?

"Hey, hey mom, what super cool awesome quirk do you think I'll have huh? Maybe it'll be like yours and I'll be able to move stuff with my mind like you. Or maybe I'll be able to breathe fire like dad, I could be called flamethrower or fire dragon. Oh, oh, oh maybe it'll be a mix and I'll be able to control fire with my mind, then I'll be, I'll be...Firestarter!" young Izuku rambled in his excitement.

Inko simply giggled at her overly excited son whose green hair and eyes matched her own, "Well as long as you don't go starting any fires in the house."

Her son hadn't heard her though. He simply bounced in his stool as it slowly spun around. Like any good mother, she would smile and laugh at his antics. Truthfully, she was scared. Most of the kids in his class had already started showing their quirks. Both her and his father had shown their quirks well before his age.

Her son hadn't realized any of this. His mind and heart were so set on becoming like his new idol, All Might. A man on his way to being the greatest hero the world had ever seen. While she didn't share her son's enthusiasm for the man, she admitted he could have far worse idols. She hoped, however, that he chose a less dangerous lifestyle than that of these pro heroes. She'd heard of far too many of them dying far too young.

As the boy spun her way once more she could tell. From his face splitting grin to his All Might t-shirt that she wouldn't get her wish. He would follow his dreams and shoot for the moon.

A mother knows things about her children. Some of them were simple things like, if Izuku hadn't asked her to put his favorite clip of his hero saving people on again in the past ten minutes that he'd fallen asleep in the chair again, or that if he gave her 'that look' in the morning when he woke up that he'd be in trouble in a few minutes. There was one thing that she knew above all others though, her son was going to be a hero. It went beyond destiny or fate, it just was.

That's why when the doctor came into the room he shocked them all, "I'm sorry Mrs. Midoriya, your son doesn't have a quirk."

The smile dissolved off of her son's face and she barely maintained a fake one of her own, "What do you mean doctor? How could he not have a quirk? Is there something we can do?"

"Well mam," the doctored started by pulling up a bone scan of the boy's foot, "Do you see this extra bone here in his toe? Most of the population has evolved to the point where we don't have this extra joint, it's all one bone. We found that those who have this typically don't have quirks at all and that is why he hasn't displayed one yet. It's not one definitive, one hundred percent, some heroes have the joint, but it's our best test when they don't display them at this age. It's rare, about only twenty percent of the population are born without one these days."

As the doctor droned on about medical facts Inko looked down at her son. The light, the joy, his great zest for life had left his eyes. All that was left was a hollow emptiness, and she could do nothing for the son she felt she had failed. Her heart began to wrench as one thought ached within her, 'this was all her fault' it was her genes that failed him.

The whole ride home, and all that night, her son had said nothing. He simply went to sit in front of their computer. Without even asking, she knew what he wanted so she turned on his favorite clips of All Might. Perhaps it was his fearless grin or his laughter but it caused the hurt in her son to boil to the surface.

It was in the midst of her pointless cleaning of her already spotless home that his voice called out in the darkness. It was broken, but somehow hopeful. She reentered the room he was in and saw that the only light now emanated from the computer monitor. The clip of All Might saving a record number of people from a horrid accident flashing across the screen and his heroic voice filled the room.

"Have no fear. I am here!"

"Mom," came his pleading empty cry, "Mom… He saves everyone with a smile, no matter what trouble they're in. He's such a cool hero.

He spun towards her in the desk chair that had been faced away from her and she could finally see her son. His eyes glistened with unshed tears that were threatening to break the threshold. A forced smile was shakily etched on his face as he looked at her as if she were his last hope in the world. His hand shook as he pointed to the screen.

Her heart clenched in that moment as tightly as the fist she held to her chest. Her eyes filled with tears, mirroring his. All her thoughts came flooding back to her. This was her son, her precious boy who dreamed of being a hero, and she had failed him. Her poor genetics had ruined his life before it started.

When his question finally came, it broke her, "Can I...be a hero too?"

Inko took a step forward and froze. She wanted nothing more than to go to him. She wanted to wrap her arms around her son and beg for his forgiveness. She wanted to apologize for stealing his dream away, for failing him. But…

No! She wouldn't do that. She couldn't do that to her son. She could see the fire still burning within him. It may have been diminished slightly at the doctor's office, but she wouldn't put it out. He would be a hero! He'd be the greatest hero the world had ever seen, she'd make sure of it.

With renewed purpose, she walked toward her son. The sorrow and pain erased from her features and left behind her with all of her other regrets. This wasn't the end for her boy, not if she had a damn thing to say about it.

Kneeling down she took his face in her hands and looked him in the eye, "Yes baby, yes you can."

A few tears trickled down his face. She wasn't sure if they were now of sorrow or gratitude, but moments later his expression change. He no longer looked defeated, resigned to a fate that he could not overcome. He didn't respond with words, he didn't put that enormous smile back on his face, he simply nodded. The look of fiery determination on his face didn't belong on a five-year-old, but that was okay. He'd accepted the hand life had dealt him and like it or not, with her help, he'd overcome it.

 **Hey! How was it? I truly hope you enjoyed it, I know it was short. Hopefully, you can understand why. This one moment changes the whole story, ya know. What if his mother had been more supportive? Would he have still been the geeky little dreamer, or would he have striven to be something more? That's pretty much what this story is all about. If his mom had just believed in him, given him that little bit of courage and belief that he so desperately needed at the time, what could he have become? As always please read and review.**

 **I'd just like to take a moment to address a couple things. First is that Izuku's mother will only be a main character for the first few chapters. She won't disappear and will play a bigger role than she did in the anime. That said, she won't be a MAIN character.**

 **Second is shipping.**

 **MinaIzuku- I never even considered this shipping when watching the show and now it's my favorite. The bubbly pinkette is just awesome sauce. I believe opposites attract and that she would be able to truly help Izuku grow as a person. Plus, I mean, come on. That girl is just buckets of adorable. She would help Izuku come out of his comfort zone and truly grow as a person.**

 **Now on to the other Izuku ships…**

 **OchacoIzuku- Honestly, I never cared for this shipping. It's just way too vanilla for me. I mean, why in this day and age would we want some plain jane nice guy meets nice girl and fall in love shipping. Just not for me, thanks. There needs to be at least something that makes things interesting.**

 **TsuyuIzuku- I know it's a really popular choice, just not mine. It would be interesting, don't get me wrong, I just want a more passionate female character for my romances.**

 **ToruIzuku- I've already started another story where I'm thinking about using her. I'm trying to figure out exactly how to write it, but it's cute as all get out if you ask me. Loving someone you can't see, who can see you. There would have to be so much trust there. Plus, if you were going to say, make her visible, how would you go about that? Still, I like it a lot.**

 **MomoIzuku- Now this is an interesting pair, but unless you did something with it, I think it'd be too bland. You'd have to really delve into Momo and create more to this. I read a really crazy story with this pairing and figured you'd have to go nuclear with her to get this to work. Maybe he could help her with her confidence issues after the tournament, idk. I still like it though. If you want a story with this pair from me then ask and give me some plot suggestions.**

 **JiroIzuku- I just can't see them clicking. I'll leave this to other authors. It might be able to be done well, but if you change the characters too much then I wouldn't like it. And as I mentioned, I just don't see how they'd click. Izuku makes her a mix tape...who knows.**

 **Don't even ask about the same sex pairings. I won't do it. I think MomoKendo have a chance of actually going canon. I kinda hope they will. Honestly, I'm a full supporter of the LGBT community. Many of my friends have same sex partners and I think anime would do well to have a mainstream show like this support that. They are the only pair I've seen that might do this.**


	2. Better Than Me

**Disclaimer: I own nothing contained within.**

 **A/N: As promised, a quick second chapter to balance out how short the first one was.**

 **Chapter 2: Better Than Me**

It's fairly common for quirks to be misunderstood. If a child doesn't train their quirk or go to a school for heroes they may never discover the truth of their ability. Such was the case for Izuku's mother, Inko.

Attracting small objects had never seemed like a grand feat, and she hadn't ever been the type for action and adventure. Thus, she had no problem going to a normal high school. Part of the problem was that she never trained her power, the other had been that she was simply a relaxed and easy going woman. That had all changed the night she decided to make sure her son become a hero.

After leaving her son to his quiet contemplation, she had returned to her cleaning with renewed vigor. Really, she had no clue what else to do. Having left the broom on the other side of the room she used her quirk on reflex to bring it over. However, she didn't just passively summon the broom to her side as she would have done all the times before. No, this time she had reached out with her power and demanded it come to her hand. The thing had flown at her with such force that she had to duck out of its way as it impaled itself in the wall.

Her son had come running out of his room and they both stared at the impaling object. He had asked her various questions that she wasn't sure how to answer. She had seen her young son get this obsessive over pro heroes, but never her own power, it was somewhat flattering. In the end, it was Izuku that had come to the conclusion that she didn't understand her own power. After all the specials and documentaries that the boy had watched he had an almost encyclopedic knowledge about quirks and the body. Without even a hint of self-pity, he had implored her to practice.

A month later the two had come to the conclusion that her ability to attract, and now repel, objects was centered around her mood. Were she the passive housewife or woman she had always been, her ability was rather weak. When she fueled said power with passion it became capable of feats far greater. Her five-year-old son had set about creating tests for her to do, testing the true limits of her power.

Her original practice had started out simple. She started with things that were slightly bigger than she'd ever pulled before. It had been her son that recommended she try and repel them. Neither of them could explain why she couldn't before but her son surmised that it had something do with her passive nature. Her training now, however, was something totally different.

They had actually gone out to an old junkyard. It wasn't exactly legal for her to use her quirk in public, but they figured this was safe enough. This is where she found out that her son could be a slave driver when it came to perk training. He would never let her defeat herself with assumptions of her own limits. It was his belief in her that pushed her forward and caused her to soar to new heights with her abilities.

He had pushed it too far once when he placed himself under the wreckage of an old car she was lifting. She had been on the verge of exhaustion already and told him she'd have to quit, that it was too heavy. It was then that he proved something to her, he could see the limits of her quirk that she could not. Even as passionate as she had become, she still had blocks up, part of her mind was still limiting her. But when she'd seen her baby in danger, all limits were off and she'd chucked the car to the other side of the dump.

That day her son had shown her just how powerful she could be. He had taught her the strength of a hero. He showed her that she was more than she had ever thought possible. And in the end, she had shown him how red his bottom could get when he scared her like that. She had nearly fallen to pieces in laughter as he had muttered "worth it" to himself as they walked home.

It was all these things that had led her to realize how truly amazing her son was. The boy was about to enter elementary school and his analytical mind outshined people ten times his age. He wasn't just bright either, no, he was clever and inventive as well. He had come up with methods and way to train her quirk that she would have thought of. It always made her giggle to think about it, her son was brilliant. It may not be conventional, but maybe her son wasn't so quirkless after all.

The Midoriya matriarch stood slightly straighter and was far more fit now. Discarded was the lonely housewife who had been forgotten and left behind by her estranged ex-husband. Her body was lean and she felt stronger, most of the credit for this belonged to her new training and mindset. A shudder would travel through her whenever she considered the depressed mess of a woman she would have been had she given up on her son's dream. After all, two years had passed and her son was now in second grade. It was late one night that she had found him asleep at his desk. Constant harassment from his peers, something that would have broken a lesser child, seemed to only drive him harder.

"They aren't better than me," he would shout adamantly, "I'll show them. I'll be the best hero ever!"

She would always support his beliefs. Again, most kids saying something like that were just boasting, but her son would do it. It was with these thoughts in mind that she began to put him to bed that night. As she cleaned up his workspace she noticed his notebook open. Pride filled her as she read his writing that was already far advanced beyond his peers. His subject matter is what set her mind going. He was designing something, she couldn't quite understand it but, as she flipped through the pages she understood something. This was it, this was what would take him beyond the limits of those with and without quirks.

There was only one problem. Whatever this was, while she was sure he _could_ build it, there was no way he'd have the tools and materials to do so. For something like that he'd need access to top-tier hero resources, the latest technology, and the proper tools. All these were things she couldn't provide for him, or could she… As she set about moving him, his things, and cleaning his room all at once with her quirk she considered something.

Her mind pondered, ' _I bet my quirk would do well at one of those hero support agencies.'_

This seemingly innocent thought would change everything. Inko had only gone job hunting for one day and received three offers from the top-rated support companies. She wouldn't be a top researcher or anything like that, but her quirk's delicate precision, combined with her range made her useful for transporting all sorts of harmful or dangerous materials. Apparently, her quirk was far more useful than she realized, real telekinetics were in short supply.

To the great surprise of many, she had passed over the top company in favor of the second place one, NextGen Industries. Not only had they offered her higher pay and a better position within the company, they gave her an apartment in the massive building itself to live in with her son. The thing was easily three times the size of there former home. The real thing that won her over though was the access she was granted and how easy going the staff was, once you were actually inside the facility anyways. The outside security was insane.

Several years later, the reputation she held within the company and tireless work ethic were more than enough for them to let Izuku, who they all agreed was brilliant, tinker with his own projects. Harmless, right?

While he was not able to legally work for the company as a middle school student. His mother was granted several 'bonuses' over time as new weapons and shielding research were 'donated' to the company from an anonymous source. His mother was greatly shocked when he began releasing his research. She was equally surprised and proud to find that it was all his prototypes and failed work, not good enough for the final project. A failure for him it may have been, but it had helped place her workplace as the number one support company.

It was during his last year in middle school that he showed it to her. It was some sort of suit made of metal. It looked to be his size but she was having trouble understanding anything about it, from the complicated parts of how it worked to the most basic things like how he put it on. He was all too happy to describe it to her.

As if her baby boy had been reborn a smile stretched from ear to ear as he explained it, "The armor is made of a special alloy created by Adamantine, the full metal hero. He can cover his body with it as well as create objects with it. Currently, it is the hardest metal known to man and I have fused it with our latest nanotech that just made us the number one hero support company. The nanotechnology helps it to self-replicate any damaged area, as well as gives me the ability to change its shape. I've got a full workup of weapons ready for it, but for now, it only has its sonic repulsors."

His mother had stopped him there, all she really heard was weapon, "Sonic blasters, what now?"

"Not blasters mom, repulsors," he corrected, like it was the simplest thing in the world, "theoretically they release enough energy to allow me to fly. However, that energy can be stored and used as a canon of sorts. Now, as I was saying. The suite is powered by something I just recently developed, it's called a Perpetual Drive, it's a combination of bio-electric matter contained within a stabilized mass that is ever growing. Now that's not to say that I can't run out of energy, just that the suit naturally replenishes it so I never have to create another energy source."

At some point, he'd begun to shift into what she called 'deep think' mode and muttered a bit. This made him very hard to understand, but not to his mother. She just smiled proudly. She figured this must be where the expression grinning like an idiot comes from.

"So here's my question," Inko jumped in when her son's body demanded he take a breath, "This looks like a major undertaking. How exactly did you make all this without me or one of the scientists noticing? If you haven't noticed, they take a _heavy_ interest in your work."

He nodded, "I know, a few desperate ones who don't belong here have been trying to rip off my work since I was ten. That's why I had to come up with my own coded language for all of my notebooks. Besides, you've seen this every day for the past two years mom, come on."

The mother gave her son an incredulous look, "I think I'd remember seeing a billion dollar piece of technology."

"A billion, mom, please," Izuku walked up and pressed a small sphere in the waist area of the suit causing it to immediately shrink down, "Come on now, we're talking eight hundred million tops. Plus, if you consider that the nanotechnology is my design that cuts the cost way down."

His mother had actually quit listening as the armor she saw shrunk down in front of her. She just watched as he strapped the thing around his waist. That's when it hit her, she had seen this for the past couple of years. She'd just assumed it was some new belt that he'd picked up, some kind of fashion trend. Although, that's probably what he wanted people to think.

"How..." was all she managed.

Her quirkless son chuckled, "All nanotechnology and the study of the conversion of mass to energy."

"But you just turned all of that...into a belt," she muttered.

"And shades," he said as he slid on what she'd come to know as his favorite accessory, "You can't forget the shades mom. They are actually the helmet piece and all of my neural networking runs through them."

All she could do once again was nod, her ignorance clearly established, "So, why are you showing me this?"

"Well," he blushed, "Tonight is her maiden voyage. It's all thanks to you that I've come this far mom. None of this would have ever been possible without you. It seemed wrong that you wouldn't be here for the first flight."

Inko had to wipe a few tears away, "So this is your first flight...wait a second, you're going to fly that thing? It's safe, right? RIGHT?!"

Izuku had to back up a few steps as his mother advanced on him, "Yeah, it's as safe as could be. I mean, I've run tons of simulations. Plus you'll be right here."

"What can _I_ do!?" she questioned somewhat erratically.

He smiled, "Remember the mobile workstation I gave you for your birthday?"

His mother held up her wrist, "You mean the watch?"

Izuku sighed, "Yes, I mean your watch. Now activate it."

The quirkless boy watched as his mother slid her hand from the watch face up her arm creating a virtual keyboard and screen. She looked at him curious about what to do next.

He smirked, "Initiate project DEKU."

Inko frowned at the name. It was a hateful term that a childhood friend of her son had coined. The meaning behind it basically was that he was a loser, a failure. She would never dredge up a bitter memory like that by choice, but since the day he asked her if he could be a hero, he'd never let anything slow him down. He certainly wasn't affected by the words of a hot headed little punk.

The screen in front of his mother flashed and changed. Her home screen changed into a page full of statistics and vitals. She was no scientist, but she'd been around them long enough to make sense of most of this. Especially the bit with her son's name, 3D rendering, and vitals readying across the screen.

"From there you'll be able to monitor me while I'm in the suit. I'll have all the same readings, but I figured this might make you feel better," he smiled at her.

His mother did her best to return a weak smile, "Izuku, is it safe?"

Whenever her voice sounded so lost he couldn't help but give her the cold hard truth, "No less or more dangerous than the hero work I'll be doing in it."

That didn't make her feel better, "I'm scared, you're my baby, and… I want to support you. I want you to surpass even your own dreams, it's just..."

Izuku smiled and wiped away the tears his mother had cried, "I'd like to say I'm not a baby anymore, but I'd always like for you to think of me as your baby boy. I have to do this mom. I can't stop here and I need you to be okay with that, I need you to believe in me."

She nodded, "I know I won't always be with you on your journey, but I'm glad I could start it with you. I love you Izuku, and I believe in you. Now go, be a hero."

Izuku tapped the belt. As the armor morphed, and he let it envelop his body, the last thing his mother saw was his smiling face. In return, as his suit booted up, the first thing her son saw was her smile.

"Niko, systems on," Izuku commanded.

Lights illuminated throughout the seams of the suit. Separate parts of the suit opened and closed, air was vented, and layers of the armor shifted as all of the systems booted up. He watched his mother stare in amazement, he actually felt pretty proud himself.

"Good evening Izuku, all systems are go," announced his AI, Niko.

"Thank you Niko," he replied.

His mother gave him a funny look, having already noticed the anagram, "Is that my voice?"

"Uhhh, I might have set up recording devices in the house for the past year. Not to be creepy or anything, just to get your audio patterns down. Although, there were things I wish I'd never heard," Izuku was glad at that moment that his mother couldn't see his blush.

"Izuku!" she shouted with her face growing redder by the moment, "I-I-I'm a grown woman. We've already had this talk Izuku."

"I _know_ mom, I _know_ ," he shouted as he began activating the repulsors in his feet, hands, and back. He really wanted to get the hell out of there.

A hatch above them opened, revealing the night sky, and with a quick salute he took off with her shouting after him, "We're going to have a serious talk about boundaries when you come back, mister!"

As he faded off into the distance she clutched her arms to her chest, "Please come back."

Izuku couldn't hear his mother, even though communication devices were all open and operational. He could barely hear the wind as he traveled at 120 miles per hour. He had to circle the same area that was considered a no-fly zone and used for testing for the facility. Luckily he had all the clearance codes for the airspace so as long as he stayed within the ten-mile radius he was fine.

It had taken some time to get used to flying. Izuku was glad that all he had to do at first was go up. He had to do some mid-flight calculations, adjusting thrust output in the arms for turns, reducing unnecessary energy burn in the feet, and controlling the back thrust for proper speed. Even though he had an automatic gyroscopic adjuster he spent some time manually keeping himself level, strictly for emergency purposes.

"Mom are you seeing this," came Izuku's voice through her terminal causing her to jump a bit.

"I can see it baby. You've done it, you've taken your first steps to becoming a hero," her praise sounded both joyous and sad somehow.

His reply came confident and strong, "I couldn't have done any of this without you mom. You made it all possible. You're my hero."

The view she saw stretched out over the waves as two more screens popped up for her to view. He had shared his GPS location with her along with his optical camera view. All her fear melted away for a moment as she heard her son whoop and holler. This was it, this was the beginning.

 **A/N: So there we have it. Before any of you rip into me for the obvious Iron Man thing, yeah I know. Still, it just seemed to work for me, but I mean come on. IronDeku, you had to suspect something. I wouldn't just rip off a hardening quirk, that's Kirishima's shtick. Now, how do you like the change in Izuku and his mother? We all saw her transition from the quiet housewife to the neurotic mess she becomes. I mean, I understood her gaining weight, but I swear she got shorter too. Anyways, this mom came with her ass stompin' boots.**

 **A couple more things. I am planning on going with the red/gold color scheme. Now, I'm set on gold, but if you'd prefer something other than red, let me know. Also, I want some original ideas for weapons, let me know what you come up with.**

 **And just for my enthusiastic guest, RandomDude, I'm going to have a small Ochaco X Bakugo side romance. There will be no other main romances but if you all want to see something then let me know.**


	3. Quirkless Superiority

**Disclaimer: I own nothing contained within.**

 **A/N: I was going to post this story biweekly so that I could easily stay ahead but you people are hard to say no to.**

 **Chapter 3: Quirkless Superiority**

"Name?" asked a female attendant sitting at the Yuuei admissions desk.

"Midoriya Izuku," he replied.

"Quirk and course?"

He hesitated for only a moment, "No quirk, and hero course."

If his sunglasses sensor hadn't caught the man, Izuku might have been as unaware of All Might's arrival as this woman seemed to be, "I'm sorry. If you don't have a quirk then you can't join the hero course."

His eyes flicked to All Might a few times, the man stood there and said nothing, "Look, ma'am, there are no rules against me taking the exam and I've already passed the written portion. You have no grounds on which to reject me."

"I'm just trying to look out for you kid. Now get lost before-"

It was at that moment that All Might announced his presence to the woman with his trademark laughter, "What's this? Already turning away promising new students? That's not the hero way."

The woman was obviously star struck, "Whatever you say All Might. The hall to your right, last door on the left."

"Thanks," Izuku muttered as he marched away in a bit of a bitter mood now.

Again All Might had almost snuck up on him, "Listen young Midoriya, no one may stop you, but you should know that the path ahead is dangerous. You could get seriously injured."

"Yeah," Izuku turned to face his childhood hero with grim determination, "And so could all the other kids. Let me tell you something. Quirk, no quirk, by the end of today I'm going to show you all how meaningless it is."

For just a moment the number one hero seemed stunned, that is before he laughed again, "Very well young Midoriya. I must say that I truly look forward to seeing you perform. Don't let me down. I hope to see you in the hero course."

As the man ran off with blinding speed Izuku began to ponder, "Does he teach here now?"

As much as he wanted to deny it, his old fanboy feelings had begun to surface upon seeing the man. He had, of course, continued researching heroes with almost the same fervor as before but for more scientific reasons now. He wanted to know their techniques, their capabilities, and how they work. Anything that might lead him to be better than them. That didn't mean he was a crazy fan anymore, it was cute as a kid, not so much as a teen.

As the pro hero, Present Mic went through the basic rules of the exam and spoke a bit about the school itself, Izuku did a systems check. The only thing that really caught his attention, beyond an overview of the robot targets, was a straight-laced boy who seemed to have a stick shoved up his ass. Izuku would be the first to admit he was more work than play, but this kid needed to chill. He was correcting a pro-hero before the explanation was over.

As instructed he filed out to test area B and waited. He had noticed lots of different kids and a variety of fairly obvious quirks. Now, he wasn't one to judge, but it was obvious who relied solely on their powers and who didn't. Sure, some of them had enough power to pull that off, but not all. The green haired teen could basically predict who stood no chance, not that any of them stood a chance being in the same group as him.

That's when a voice from the past called out to him, "Midoriya?"

He turned to see one of his childhood tormentors, "And you are?"

The rage on the blond's face made him chuckle on the inside, "You damn nerd! What are you even doing here you quirkless loser?!"

Faces all turned to look now as Bakugo's comment rang loud, "That's right everybody. This loud banshee is correct," Bakugo tried to yell back but Izuku wasn't done, "I have no quirk. That's right. But you know what, I'm still going to crush you all in this test."

"Who do you think you are?"

"Is he really quirkless?"

"Theirs no way a kid with no quirk can do better than us!"

"How is someone with no quirk here?"

"What is he saying?"

All of their complaints and challenges were music to his ears. This is what he wanted. He would start first with his peers, proving that his talent matched theirs. Then he would get better, get stronger, until he was the best.

Izuku's sensors picked up Present Mic preparing to make an announcement, "Niko, systems on. Let's do this."

All of the examinees stepped back as his suit unfolded across his body. A wicked grin crossed his face at the shock and perhaps mild fear. They hadn't seen anything yet.

"I don't care if you're hiding in that tin can Deku, I'll still destroy you," barked his momentarily forgotten rival, "Why would they want you when they can have someone like me?"

Izuku chuckled, "Sorry, forgot you were even here whoever you are. Tell you what, let's settle this with a wager. Whoever gets the highest score wins and is the better hero, deal?"

"You're on loser. I can't wait to humiliate you, and when I'm done-" was all he could say before he was interrupted.

"BEGIN!"

Almost all of the other students hesitated but Izuku took off and flew towards the center of the combat zone. Some of the enemies had come out and began firing at him. The projectiles pinged harmlessly off of his armor making him laugh.

"Niko, give me a full scan of the area and then target all enemy units that aren't within range of the other students. Don't need to lose points for attacking _friendlies_ ," he ordered.

A radar appeared on screen. Red dots signifying the targets appeared and only those away from the friendly blue indicators were locked on. At least three-quarters of the opponents were outside of the range of the students, still, he should act fast.

"Fire homing missiles."

From the armored boy's shoulder came a small multi-rocket launcher. Moments later shots began to fire, and seconds after that his screen flashed the all clear. There were of course still enemies to destroy, but he could do that close up.

Izuku then proceeds to hover around to the areas with the greatest congestion of targets and eliminate those remaining with his sonic canons. He laughed at the memory of being almost knocked out of the sky the first he'd used them. He'd made many recalculations since then.

Up in the observation tower, the majority of the people responsible for scoring the exam were losing their minds.

"Who is that?" one shouted.

The mouse principal Nezu hopped down from his seat with a chuckle and brought up the boys information, "This is participant ID 117, Midoriya Izuku."

All Might stood in the back of the room with a strange smile on his face, "Well I'll be."

This explanation hadn't quelled the upset graders, "What kind of quirk does he have? This level of mobility, destruction, and analysis is unheard of. He even managed to wipe out his targets without damaging the surroundings."

Before the principal could answer All Might stepped forth, garnering the attention of those in the room, "The boy has no quirk. Whatever he is using out there, it is something he designed and built himself."

"Preposterous!"

"This is insane!"

"Why was someone with no quirk even allowed to take the exam?"

"Why," Nezu repeated the question, "I think it's obvious. Too many people have fallen under the assumption that quirks are everything. They have forgotten the power of human ingenuity, the very thing that your people thrived on before quirks came around. I think this boy has shown us today that quirks are not everything."

Silence reigned in the booth. There was nothing any of them could do now but watch.

Izuku was tracking the last few remaining targets who all seemed to be tracking one student. Based on his radar, he believed the student to be running. He was very amused to find that it was a girl leading them all on a merry chase. Sure, he could wipe them out rather quickly, but this seemed kinda fun.

As he hovered down beside the girl, making sure to match her pace, he asked, "You seem to be having a good time. I think your laughter is what attracted them all to you."

He had seen many people in his life. So he was no stranger to the odd effects that a person's quirk could have on their physical appearance. Still, never before had he seen a girl with pink skin, pink hair, and horns. She bounced around a bit but seemed to skate along the ground on some sort of secretion that her body produced. It was quite ingenious. He did give her a little more space when he found out it was acid. Some of the machines trailing her had already met an untimely end when they traveled through a pool that she trailed.

"You don't really look like one of them," the pink girl commented, "But hey, what do I know?"

Izuku reached up and tapped his helmet before she could deploy some form of attack. His headpiece receded into the sunglasses once more revealing his face. Her eyes grew in recognition and he couldn't help but smile. She stopped suddenly throwing an acid bath at the last remaining adversary.

"Oh man, it's you, the terminator guy. No wait, wait, you're Iron Man," she teased.

Izuku didn't get it, "Iron, you think this is iron. Are you crazy? Iron could never take the force of the energy conversion that takes place within the nanotech in my suit."

The girl laughed, actually laughed at him, "Chill dude, those are old movie characters, like really old. Ones about this evil robot who comes from the future, that's the terminator. You reminded me of him with your whole, 'I will squash you puny mortals speech' but you are human so it didn't work. No, Iron Man, I don't see how you don't know him. You're basically ripping off his whole shtick. Hot guy, makes this super suit, then becomes a superhero, ya know."

He really didn't, "No idea what you're talking about, but I'm hot huh?"

"Don't let it go to your head," she teased and stuck her tongue out, "The question is are you more cute or crazy?"

He chuckled, "Oh, far more crazy. I mean I did just challenge an entire group of quirk users to go head to head with me. Plus I don't have a quirk, so yeah."

She started laughing so hard at this point that she had to grab her sides, "Well, at least you don't lack confidence."

He couldn't repress his cheesy grin at her statement and extended his hand, "Midoriya Izuku."

"You sure it isn't Tony Stark," she teased one last time, just to see if she could get a rise out of him.

His face was clearly baffled, "Huh?"

"Never mind," she giggled some more as she shook her head, "Ashido Mina, nice ta meetcha!"

The pleasantries soon came to an end as several screams could be heard. Midoriya quickly tapped his shades causing his helmet to come back up. Using an enhanced visual sensor he saw the zero point monster headed their way.

"Oh, I gotta get me some of that. Guess I should save the ones too slow to get away too," he shrugged.

Mina laughed at that, "Oh, so you do want to be a hero. I was starting to wonder."

"Oh har har," he retorted though she couldn't see his mocking face through his helm, "I will be a hero, the best. I just don't like people who think they're better than me because they have a quirk."

He did his best to hide the hurt in his voice but she caught it, "Hey, you know we're not all like that. I mean I have a quirk and I think you're pretty cool, probably psychotic, but pretty cool. I mean, look at me, quirks can have their physical downsides too."

He looked at her and tilted his head so she'd know he thought she was being silly, "And what exactly is the downside of being beautiful?"

He didn't wait to hear her response. He knew she couldn't see his blush, but that didn't keep it from lighting his face on fire. He even had a sensor go off for accelerated heart rhythm.

Mina chased after him, wanting a piece of that monster for herself. After all, she loved monsters. Plus, it was the best way to calm herself down and try to get her cheeks to be a little less fuchsia and back to their basic pink.

Her mind was still stuck, hearing those words and wondering, ' _Does he really think I'm beautiful.'_

When he got on the scene, Izuka immediately went into assessment mode. This thing had thicker plating than the others. He'd have to hit it with his rail gun to put it down. The first problem though were the students who had either fallen or started running out of breath.

He started to become angry as the more fit students just left them behind, _'Cowards! Leaving comrades behind like this! And they think they have what it takes to be heroes."_

"Midoriya," the voice that called out to him warmed his heart a bit, "What's the plan?"

"Try and slow it down while I get those people to safety," now he wished she really could see his smile.

"Gotcha Iron Man," she shouted back.

He wanted to argue the iron point again but he knew it was pointless, "Niko, deploy four recovery drones."

"What do you say," came the voice of his mother as it deployed the drones.

"Please," he chuckled, ' _He hadn't programmed the attitude, must be the AI.'_

Mina was doing an amazing job of keeping the behemoth at bay. Even with its reinforced armor, the treads she was melting away were causing its forward progress to slow. That still left one fallen participant who seemed to have passed out. While he was retrieving her he noticed her body covering another potential student.

 _'She must have been trying to protect him,'_ at last he felt like he was meeting some worthy hero candidates.

His joy was short lived as he realized they were in the titan machines range and he couldn't safely evac both of them in time. Mina froze as she watched the things massive arm come down on the three of them. She was afraid that he would abandon them, and then as she saw him stand above them her fear grew.

 _'Why am I more afraid now that I know he's protecting them,'_ she didn't have time to come up with an answer.

The massive limb came down and Mina was forced to watch him get crushed until...he didn't. She was just close enough to see the arm of his suit almost ripple. She couldn't fight that thing, but maybe she could help save the injured.

Racing over she was about to pick up the two students when two flying drones beat her to it. She watched as the two were airlifted away. Now she wasn't sure what she should do.

"So," he chuckled, "What brings a girl like you to a place like this?"

She liked him more already, feigning ignorance she replied, "I just seem to get myself into these situations."

He enjoyed the fact that she was able to play along with prompting, "Well miss, how about I ask our friend to leave and then we get out of here?"

Mina gave him a wicked smirk and wink that didn't match her polite tone, "Well, as long as you ask nicely."

Izuku could barely hold in the laughter now, "Well let's see if our friend can take the hint."

On his right shoulder, a large cannon appeared. Still holding off the things arm he dropped to a knee. This caused his new friend some worry.

"You sure you're alright?"

"Oh yeah," he tried to force his confidence into his tone, "Just gotta brace myself for so much hospitality sometimes."

"Canon ready," Niko reported causing Mina to look around for another person.

He smiled, "Fire."

The blast erupted up the mechanical fist and ripped straight up and through the things head. In the end, it tipped back and fell over.

A bit tired, and running low on power Izuku disengaged his suit, "Well, my lady, shall we?"

He blushed a bit as she took his arm, "Enough with this old time stuff. We just kicked some serious ass, time to party!"

He chuckled, "Let's get out of here first."

"Wait, wait, wait!" she shouted at him.

He turned quickly, worried he might have missed something, "What is it?"

"Now you gotta say," she took a rigid posture and deepened her tone, "I'll be back."

He gave her an 'are you serious' expression but finally figured, why not, "I'll be back."

A celebrating pinkette on his heels, he left the grounds, _'Maybe this will be alright after all.'_

 **A/N: Well, there it is. Chapter three was fun to write. Again, I know that chapters aren't very long, but I'm putting them out fairly quickly so no complaints, okay? A lot of you guys seem to love the attention I'm giving Inko. I honestly feel like she is a massively unused resource. Two things we've learned from the anime/manga are that quirks are often misunderstood and are weak unless trained. If Inko never tried to be a hero then that would explain those things for her.**

 **How did you guys like your first taste of IronDeku? I've deferred to some of your ideas on color choices. I was originally going to go with the traditional red and gold, but you're right. Izuku isn't himself without some green. Now I've got to think of some crazy cool weapon ideas.**

 **A side note, this story will not feature Mei. At least not heavily. Izuku is kind of filling that genius inventor role for us. She will probably make comments at some point or another on his 'baby' but I don't know what else. Not I'll answer a few reviews.**

 **FShield96- Thanks for the thoughts and reviews. This will be a DekuXMina story.**

 **Batblind359- As far as One For All, I won't spoil that for you. I know what I'm going to do, but you'll just have to find out. As for building the suit, I considered it, but just thought it would bore some readers. Couldn't skip the first flight though. I'll cover the cost part eventually, don't worry.**

 **RandomDude- Glad to see another review. I always take my readers opinions into consideration. I'm glad that you appreciated that. Now, as to the pairings. I've already decided on an IzukuXMina pairing so no go there. I will consider his mother's though, she deserves one for sure. Izuku will be emerging as the main character as you've seen in this chapter.**

 **ICHeart- You have been heard and I agree to an extent. The suit will have green in it.**

 **Jss2141- I'll have to make sure she gets some story time. Mei is a fun character to write after all.**

 **DoCinthehouse- Glad you think so!**

 **Serthrek871- My color choices are explained in the story, but your other questions were answered in this chapter so… yeah!**

 **Plasma Dragon 312- Yes, she stays fit, more so than in the beginning of the anime.**

 **JustAGuy536- Sorry to hear that man. Just change the hero or whatever and you'll be fine though.**

 **Guest- Thanks a lot, there's more to come!**

 **Cornsnake- Thanks man, I hear ya.**

 **YaBoiJSWIZZLE- Hope you keep enjoying it.**


	4. In or Out?

**A/N: So many of you are probably curious as to why it took so long to get this chapter out. The truth is that the story that inspired mine has started to veer closer to what I'm doing. The last thing I want to be accused of is ripping off another author so I've been rehashing some things since it's still so early in the story. I've found enough fundamentally different that it should be fine and that story isn't really going as hard on the Iron Man theme as I am.**

 **Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing. That should cover all My Hero and Marvel.**

 **Chapter 4: Are You In or Out!**

When Izuku left the grounds he was curious what the results were going to be. It wasn't like he was subtle, not that he'd wanted to be. No, he'd wanted to make a statement and that's exactly what he had done.

The truth was he'd been preparing himself for that day for years. The rate of people passing that test, plus the odds of anyone who tested against him making it, made him fairly certain he wouldn't have to really deal with those he tested against. This let him not worry so much about repercussions when it came to the treatment of those he tested with. Most people would be shy had they been removed from public schools and taught by some of the smartest minds in the hero support industry, not Izuku though, he was a man on a mission.

He hadn't really been accustomed to people his own age. Not that he had never spent any time around them...just not much. The fact that he'd been able to converse so well with the girl he'd met, Ashido, was a miracle in and of itself. He'd been able to use her bizarre appearance to keep his mind off the fact that he was talking to a girl. It helped that she was different than any other girl he'd ever met. She had to of heard him announce that he was quirkless, and she still didn't seem to care.

Izuku shook the thoughts from his head as he lay back in his bed. No need to waste brain power thinking about someone he'd never see again, probably. He'd been excited when he'd first come home after his test, his performance had exceeded his own expectations. With a test like that they might as well have asked him to embarrass the other competitors. And from the looks on their faces as they left, humiliation is exactly what they felt. Imagining them trying to explain to their families that they were beaten so badly by someone who was quirkless brought a chuckle to the boy.

If he'd been on cloud nine when he came home, his mother was on number eleven. She'd cooked an extravagant dinner with all of his favorites, katsudon among the many options. She'd had him retell the story four times, even calling up various co-workers to hear the tale. Of course, his suit was no longer a secret here. After his initial test, as well as the reserved airspace, he'd basically ratted himself out. As he'd expected, they hadn't cared, the worst he got was some jealous glances.

You'd expect a hero support company to be a bit miffed when a few hundred million dollars worth of materials had been appropriated for a teenager's pet project. But when you stop to consider the billions he had made them over the years, their willingness to overlook the incident became clear. Especially since some of it was his tech in the first place, and most of the materials he'd used had been scraped together from the scarps of other projects. Sure, they had already approached him about the details and schematics. They had asked what price, if any, would he be willing to take for the design. But this one was for him and him alone. Even he shuddered to think what a group of villains could do with these.

Still, the one thing he'd taken away from the test was a color scheme. As odd as it sounded, he didn't want to just leave it the grayish color that it was now. Izuku had already drawn up several color schemes and had only decided on one color so far, green. He liked green, it worked well, and the other main color he'd considered was red, which made him look like a giant Christmas ornament. It couldn't just be green of course, too much of a good thing ya know. There were of course the colors he refused to use, pink, purple, orange, black and so on. He had briefly considered white, he liked white, but it didn't work with the green in his opinion. It had been the girl he'd met that had given him the inspiration, gold. It was her eyes, in the instance she had come over to help with the two injured test takers he had gotten a very good look at the gold irises swimming in black, like some kind of light at the end of a tunnel.

He had just finished the full imaging before retiring for the night. By morning, his suit would be ready in all of its green and golden glory. His eyes started to get heavy as his mind slowed. His last thoughts were about the results of the exam and how the proctors would score him. He had no idea what a controversial a topic he truly was.

 **-UA Conference Room-**

The same meeting that had been going on for the past four hours was still in full swing. The subject of the heated discussion, one Izuku Midoriya. In four hours nothing had been agreed upon. Was it going to be allowed for a quirkless student to attend UA? Should he be relegated to support? How should they respond to the way he handled the test? How should they grade the other students in the same area?

After much bickering, the room grew quiet as the principal stood atop the table, "I have listened to all the points put forward, repeatedly might I add. I admit we have a truly unique situation on our hands."

All remained silent as Nezu held up a finger, "First, as to the matter of his attendance. Since the boy was accepted to take the test, we can not reject him based on his quirkless status. He also more than proved himself during said exam. On that note, he will not be assigned to support. He did not sign up for it, did not test for it, and likely wouldn't accept it."

Grumbles were heard but none openly protested as the mousy principle held up a second digit, "Now, onto the manner in which he presented himself. While I do not agree with all of what he said and did, in the end, it was harmless showboating. In fact, I'd say he should be commended. Since the birth of quirks, advancement of technology and humanity itself stagnated. Were it not to have, we would likely be vacationing on Mars by now."

A few chuckles came from that, none realizing how serious the manimal was, "And lastly, as to the other students. Each will have to be graded individually based on the actions we perceived. Unfair though it may be, we must consider that luck and opportunity are apart of the life of a hero. We only admit a sparse few to our academy, Young Midoriya has proved worthy to be among that number. Perhaps the others should take this as a learning experience."

Though many wanted to, none argued with the principle. Not only was his intellect leaps higher than anyone else in the room, he also had final say. So if this was his decision then that was how it was, period.

As Nezu left the room he took notice of the figure who stood in the shadows of the doorway, "Well, I have done it, just as you asked? Though, I would have anyway. I must ask, do you really find him so interesting? Do you even think he'd go for it?"

Silence was the only answer he received, and he knew that was probably all he would get. With that, the principal walked away. No matter what plans were laid ahead of him, he would enjoy watching it all unfold.

' _Humans truly are such interesting creatures_ ,' were the thoughts of the super intelligent Nezu.

 **-Midoriya's Home-**

There were many tasks that are too sophisticated for the human hand to perform. Izuku had found this out time and time again in his work. That said, whenever he could do something with his own two hands, he would. That is exactly why he was using the weights in his room, to build strength for some such activities. How do these two things correlate? Well, he wouldn't be able to effortlessly throw around fifty-pound metal sheets were he scrawny, and he had to do this many times when working on his secret project. It would have been hard to remain secret if he'd had to ask for help.

Izuku's chiseled chest and arms glistened with sweat as he adjusted some of the gears on an old project, a full body resistance training tool. He couldn't afford to do any new work at the moment, his heart just wasn't in it, so he relegated himself to doing old tasks that could be done with his eyes closed. It had been two weeks since the quirkless young man had taken the exam and still, he'd received no letter. Even if he was rejected, which he knew to be an impossibility, he should get something. For this past week, however, patience had not been his virtue. He used this menial labor to distract himself, after all, overly relying on technology wasn't much better than relying on quirks.

A knock at the door immediately grabbed his attention, "Come in."

A small parade of men and women followed his mother into the room. Luckily his workout room was bigger than his bedroom, otherwise they'd have never fit. The group with his mother was an odd lot, that included the company VP, but they had become an odd kind of family over the years. The fact that they let him sit in on some of their project collaboration meetings thrilled him. It made him feel like they respected him and his ideas as an equal, or close to it.

"It's here," was all his mother said or had to say.

All else forgotten Izuku zipped forward and held the letter in his hands. The red wax UA seal was bled onto the back. For a frozen moment in time, he simply stared at it. It was amazing how such a simple thing could dictate so much of his life, how so many of his plans revolved around his acceptance into this school.

A warm hand, his mother's, came to rest on his shoulder, "It's okay, Izuku. Open it."

Green reflected green as their eyes met, he nodded in reply, "Okay."

Taking the letter to his work desk he ripped it open, only to find a strange disk inside. It was obvious to them all that it was a holographic projector of some sorts. After all, it was their design.

A massive All Might in a pinstriped yellow suit suddenly filled the empty space above the desk, "I AM HERE..."

The shout of the projection sent all of them back a step.

"AS A PROJECTION!" this caused all the people in attendance to sweatdrop a bit, "I actually came to this town to work at U.A."

Izuku nodded, this explained what he was doing here. The young inventor knew from his fanboy days that this was not where the pro hero usually worked. His curiosity had been peaked when he'd seen the man at the exam, but there had been no time as to inquire about it. Izuku found himself pleased that the mystery was solved, unknown variables often being the bane of progress.

Everyone was eagerly awaiting the verdict as an off-screen presence told the hero to hurry up, "Alright then, moving along. Your exam went through heavy debate, something I have a feeling you already know. Keep in mind that you are trying to become a hero and how a hero should conduct themselves."

Izuku couldn't help but scoff at this, knowing what the other kids had thought when they'd found out he was quirkless. He would hate to admit to being bitter, but he wouldn't act like that if he didn't know how they'd all react. He had been proven right too, when they'd found out, they'd all but laughed at him. That said, when many of the spectators in the room booed at the famous heroes comment he was reminded why he loved his new family.

"Don't believe that everyone is against you for being quirkless. But why listen to me, why don't I show you," He announced and holding up a remote pressed a button.

A TV had descended beside the well-dressed man and flickered to life. At first, he only saw doors. Then, to his surprise, the pink haired girl from the exam came through them and approached someone off camera.

"Excuse me," she had said before the video paused.

All eyes flickered to Izuku who couldn't be bothered to notice in that instance, "It's her."

All Might then resumed speaking, "Yes, this young woman came to speak with us after the exam. Why you ask, just watch?"

Once more the video resumed, Present Mic now visibly standing before her, "The thing is, there was this crazy guy I tested with. He wore that weird armor thing and flew around blowing stuff up. I mean, I don't even know if I passed but you just gotta let him in. I get that he doesn't have a quirk and stuff, and he was kind of a jerk. But even after he wiped all those targets out he went on and helped people. He had to have had more than enough points to pass by then. And when that crazy ginormous one came out he protected all those people, and I mean, it's not like they were all nice to him once they heard he was quirkless. You gotta let him in, please!"

"That's right my boy," The number one hero chimed in, "Even with all that you said, this girl could see the hero inside you. She didn't plead for herself like many students did after your merciless grandstanding. Instead, she only asked that they not prejudice themselves against you. Your behavior aside, your score on the test was incredible. Not only were you able to destroy the vast majority of the drones, you did so with very little risk to others or property damage. What's more, when the zero point target appeared you saved several students while effectively working with a student who you appear to have only just met. How could any school claiming to train heroes turn such a person away? Quirk or no, such spirit and heroism would never be turned away in my Alma Mater. What I'm trying to say is, WELCOME YOUNG MIDORIYA TO U.A."

For a few minutes after projection died down, no one said a word. Even the adults had feared that the boys quirklessness would get him rejected. They knew all too well the cruelty of the world. Each of them prayed that the boy's future would not be denied him.

Then the green haired boy's voice filled the silence, "I did it..."

That was all it took for the room to erupt into cheer. Izuku was certain they'd all been empty-handed when they come in, but somehow drinks and food filled the room. He knew this had to be his mother's doing. Her faith in him felt more concrete than his own at times. Knowing that his joy was etched on his face he turned to his ever-loving supportive mother to share his joy with her. The smile he found on her face, however, was frightening.

"Izuku dear," Inko Midoriya's voice was sickeningly sweet, "Who was that girl?"

The green haired boy chuckled a bit nervously as his hands came up in a surrender motion, "It's not what you think mom, I swear. We only met during the exam and she ended up helping me save some people. She said I reminded her of some really old comic book superhero or something. I don't know why she did this."

As his mother stalked forward, the young man prepared for the end of his life until she suddenly stopped. In a somewhat uncharacteristic display of emotion, the woman's eyes began to water and her lips trembled. In the end, she collapsed to her knees and began to wail with exaggeratedly large tears falling from her chin.

"My b-b-baby boy has gone and g-got himself a g-g-girlf-friend! H-H-He doesn't n-need me anym-more," the woman broke down into unassuageable hysterics.

To say that all in attendance were a bit uncomfortable with this display would be an understatement. The men and women all whispered their congratulations before quickly making there way to the door. It wasn't long before the two Midoriyas were left alone. In truth, Izuku wasn't embarrassed by his mother, moreover, he felt like dirt for making her cry. Even if she was being ridiculous.

"Come on mom," he said trying to pull the woman to her feet, "It's not like that, I promise."

In an adorably youthful pout that belied her age she replied, "Yeah, you're just saying that, then you'll leave me all alone. Just an old woman working for the man."

'When did my mother start using expressions like working for the man,' wondered the newly admitted UA student.

Izuku chuckled a bit but couldn't help but blush at what he intended to say, "I don't know if a woman with your kind of money or figure would ever be considered just some old lady."

His mother's cheeks reddened in reply, but she was snapped out of her fit, "I-Izuku! Don't say such things!"

He smiled at his mother, "Come on mom, dad's been gone a long time. You're so much stronger than you've ever been. Don't you think it's time you moved on? 'Cause I mean _if_ , and that's a big if, I found someone I wanted to date I still wouldn't leave you for a long time. I'm only fourteen after all, old enough for a girlfriend sure, but not to leave home. Let alone for a girl who I barely know."

"Oh, I don't know Izuku," Inko sputtered, "Never mind that now, I want to meet this girl."

"W-What?!" he replied in shock.

"Why of course. This young woman went to such incredible lengths for my boy, the least I can do is offer her a proper thank you. Is there a reason I can't meet this woman," her last words held a dangerous edge as the sharp and pointy objects in the room all began to float a bit.

"N-N-No, no, no that should be fine. I mean, I don't know how I'm supposed to contact her though," he hoped that would be enough to cause her to give up.

"Do you know her name," he couldn't lie to her, he nodded, "Great, so just get on your MyBook or FaceSpace or whatever you kids call it and find her. School starts in a month and I'd like to meet her for a dinner before then."

That night Izuku sat at his computer. He'd found the girl easily enough, and he'd even done it legally. Her page was set to public, not the smartest thing these days, but it made his life easier. How would he have explained otherwise?

'Hi, I hacked your page to ask you to come to my house for dinner!'

That wouldn't have been creepy at all, surrrrre. Now he was left with the decision of how to start things off. He'd never even used the messenger on here so he hadn't even selected an icon to use. Izuku took a moment to think about anything that might remind her of him. An idea popped into his head so he brought up a separate window and did a search. What he found left him mortified, embarrassed, and slightly annoyed. Nevertheless, he uploaded the superhero image as his icon and selected his screen name.

Iron Man: Hey, remember me?

It took about thirty seconds before she replied. It would have taken him days just to deal with the shock. Not that the image of horrifying alien she used as an icon didn't freak him out a bit.

Alien: Midoriya? That you?

Iron Man: Sure is, what's with that crazy icon you have? This is Ashida, right?

Alien: Oh, it's a super old horror movie. Yep, it's me.

Alien: Was popular around the same time as your hero icon there was.

Alien: So you looked Iron Man up?

Iron Man: Yes, and the similarities were mortifying.

Iron Man: My tech is better and a bit more stylish, but the general concept is almost dead on…

Alien: Don't feel bad :)

Alien: First off, he was fictional

Alien: You basically just made a bunch of dead peoples dreams come true ;P

Iron Man: Why doesn't that make me feel better?

Alien: Soooo, not that I'm not thrilled to hear from ya, but why

Iron Man: Oh yeah, I got off track there

Iron Man: I heard what you did for me, going and asking them to pass me.

Alien: (blush) It was no big deal

Iron Man: Well it was to me. Plus, my mom heard too and has demanded I invite you to dinner.

Alien: LMAO

Alien: Did she now? Or is this just you trying to get me to come over to your place?

Alien: Maybe you are more like your fictional counterpart than you realize

Alien: Next all you need is to be rich

Iron Man: …..

Alien: Shut up

Alien: You are?!

Iron Man: Well sorta

Alien: OMG I'm so calling you Tony Stark from now on! :D

Iron Man: Please don't...

Iron Man: So what do you say? It doesn't have to be here. We can meet you in town at a restaurant or something.

Izuku was a little nervous when it took a full minute for her to reply considering how quickly she had initially replied to him. For the life of him, he didn't understand why he felt that way. If she said no, that was just one less thing for him to worry about, right?

Alien: My parents said okay!

Iron Man: Cool

Alien: They'd like you to come pick me up though so they can meet you.

Alien: Is that all right?

The thought of meeting these people sent a chill down his back. Still, she was doing all this for him. It seemed like the least he could do.

Iron Man: Sure.

Alien: All right! (Does happy dance)

Iron Man: Are you free this Saturday?

Alien: Sure am Mr. Stark

Iron Man: This is going to be a thing with you...isn't it

Alien: I could always call you Midori

Iron Man: What now?

Alien: Midori, short for Midoriya

Iron Man: I figured that out, but why?

Alien: It's cuter!

Alien: I'm headed to bed now.

Alien: Night Midori! ;p

 **Alien has signed off.**

Izuku leaned back in his computer chair whilst running his fingers wildly through his hair. He went over the dialogue between him and his...friend? He wasn't sure what she was but he was sure about one thing. She was coming to dinner.

 **A/N: Not a super long note here. I hope the IM bit didn't bother anybody, just thought it'd be a fun way to do that. Did you guys enjoy Inko's emotional moment? She's still much tougher than in the anime, but I think Izuku should remain a soft spot for her.**

 **Let me know if you guys want a full on "Meet the Parents" scene with Inko and Ashida, or you'd rather me keep it short and get to the first day of school.**

 **Reviews:**

 **Crow's Apprentice** **: Thanks for the positive feedback. I thought it was a good idea. Some people did a Spider Man story and after I read a quirkless story I wanted to do one.**

 **Sandman001:** **If I do the Hulk Buster suit it will be inspired by the fight with the Nomu.**

 **Plasma Dragon 312** **: I'll consider it, but I've already thought of a way I'd enjoy writing it to be honest. You're not the first person to ask me to not though.**

 **WolfDragon** **: Keep reading, I intend for the Black Sabbath song to make an appearance. As for the "I am Iron Man" I just thought the terminator phrase was more appropriate for Mina to ask for and Midoriya doesn't understand any of it.**

 **Ninjamon1228** **: I've been considering it.**

 **FSheild96** **: Thanks for the review. I'll try and add some more detail from now on but don't want to overdo it. I want the story to be read 'lightly' does that make sense?**

 **doCinthehouse** **: Thanks man**

 **Karlos1234ify** **: Much appreciated!**

 **Bladetri** **: :)**

 **RandomDude** **: Hey! Thanks for the review. I can understand what you're saying and I'll see if I can't do more of this. You got a bit more introspective with Izuku this chapter. Let me clarify though with what little romantic interaction there was in the last chapter. It wasn't as if Mina was in love with Izuku or anything, but kids that age can crush on one another quickly and it was more that his comments simply had an effect on her.**

 **Roanoak** **: You make an excellent point. When I get to the big tournament arc I'll make things interesting for them.**

 **BatBlind359** **: Yeah, my Izuku doesn't have the years of torment that scare him into cowing under the Bakugo. The explosive teen is going to get a very rude awakening in my story. Not a hundred percent sure what I'll be doing with him in the future.**

 **YaBoiJSWIZZLE** **: Thanks for the patronage man. Glad to see you sticking around. I'll have to think about a hand to hand combat weapon that would be funny and powerful. Maybe a sledgehammer or something. #HammerTime**

 **dspendragon125** **: Hope you enjoy it!**

 **TheFatedWarrior** **: I'm glad you agree with my take on things. I am tired of vanilla relationships in anime. Yeah, they're cute, but they're boring. Izuku needs a girl to shake things up for him.**

 **DiRunner** **: Glad you enjoyed it and hope you keep reading. I agree, this ship is better.**


	5. Dinner and a Show

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **A/N: I'm back guys and it's new chapter time! This chapter got way too long and had to be split into two. So please enjoy the first half and continue straight into the second. I'll explain a lot of things at the end of the next chapter.**

 **Chapter 5: Dinner and a Show**

Izuku stood in front of his full body mirror. His dark green button up and black jeans were nice enough he supposed. The thing that bothered the would-be-hero, was trying to define what tonight was and what Ashida would think it is. Going out to dinner wouldn't have warranted the button-up, meeting her parents, on the other hand, did.

The green haired boy sighed at the state of his unruly locks. Even after washing all of the machine grease and sweat out he still couldn't get it to behave. A small chuckle left his lips when he thought of how similar his pink haired "dinner dates" hair had seemed when they had last seen one another.

Adjusting his belt, Izuku set off towards the living room in search of his mother. All day something had been bothering him, actually, he'd felt like he was forgetting something all week actually. It was unusual for him to be scatterbrained and forget things, however, this week was an exception. This week his mom had been acting...odd.

Over the past many years, he and his mother had developed a certain relationship. They were a team, a unit, a single force that worked tirelessly towards whatever their current task was. Together they were focused, each usually knew what the other was doing or thinking, it went so far that Izuku had been worried that his mother would discover his creation before he chose to unveil it.

During work hours his mother had behaved much the same. She was focused and dedicated, a true credit to her position. There wasn't a person working for the now number one hero support company that hadn't greatly benefited from having the woman around. To see her so, so, so excitable and flighty around the house was odd to be sure. It wasn't as though the exceptionally bright boy didn't know what the problem was, oh he knew. The cause of her current malady was there outing tonight.

Inko Midoriya had been greatly affected by the kindness displayed by young Ashido. She and her son had faced a great many challenges since she'd started on the path to help him become a hero so long ago. Through every one of these adversities, the two had come out on top together. That said, Inko knew she was getting older and not be able to stand by him forever. She didn't expect too much from this girl who she currently considered a pink angel. Regardless of the teasing, she gave him, the elder Midoriya simply wished for her son to make friends. If nothing else, the green haired woman knew that no matter what else Mina Ashido was, the girl had a good heart.

This night promised to be very interesting. Obviously her son had forgotten what tonight was so she'd be able to make him go this year. After all, he really should be there, especially this year. Having already gotten the contact information for the girl's parents, only the children were unaware of what this night had in store for them.

As Inko looked herself over in the mirror, she nodded at herself. It had taken some time, but with Izuku's constant compliments and boasting, she had come to truly appreciate herself. In the mother's younger years she had stayed fit and thin but had fallen into a bit of a slump when left to raise a child alone. The woman often wondered what fat, frumpy, miserable state she would have ended up in had she not changed so drastically. The one thing that would never change though, was regardless of how proud of herself her son says she should be, she thanked him for everything. Simply wanting to change is hard for most people, most need a reason or motivation. Just another reason why her son was so amazing.

The dress Inko had on was a very dark shade of green, almost black. It complimented her hair perfectly and made her eyes pop. It had been a gift from her son, something he'd caught her eyeing and purchased for her. He called it her 'if looks could kill' dress, obviously he meant it differently than the common turn of phrase that it was used for. Emerald earrings and a necklace to match completed her ensemble as she let her hair simply fall freely down her back.

The telekinetic woman found her son in the living room awaiting her. She noticed his clothes and was glad he'd decided to dress so well, he looked quite handsome. It was with some effort that she was able to conceal a laugh. He had no idea that he'd be in a completely different outfit by the time the night was done.

"My, don't you look handsome," she teased her son, "I would think you were going on a date if I didn't know better."

"Don't even start, we both know you'd make me go back and change if I hadn't at least dressed this nice," his sarcastic expression changed then to a more serious one, "You, however, look very nice. Thinking about ditching us to pick up a guy?"

Inko blushed a bit. She'd learned long ago that a war of embarrassment with her son was one of attrition. Not to mention that it was a fight she lost more often than not. Honestly, the often flirtatious way they spoke to one another could probably be very easily misunderstood if you didn't know them. The fact was that it was just how they were, how their relationship had developed, it was only for fun regardless of how it sounded.

Izuku frowned when he saw his mother grin wide, "Oh no, I simply thought I'd see how you'd do with two women on your arm. Who knows, you may have some kind of superhero harem in the future with as amazing as you'll be? Just thought I'd prepare you."

The boy took on a blush to match his mother and reached out to shake her hand, "A draw then."

"Agreed," she replied with a grin.

 **-Mina's House-**

Izuku knocked at the door without hesitation. He knew if he didn't, then he'd be teased for it. A multitude of feet could be heard running around the house. When the door finally opened a young boy was standing in the frame. The only way Izuku could tell that this was a relative of the girl he met was his odd skin color, the kid was blue. His eyes were actually normal, a green color that matched his skin well, he had black hair that frizzed much like his sister's, and was dressed in an All Might t-shirt and shorts.

He eyed the mother and son in the doorway carefully, "You aren't those door-to-door church people, are you? What were they called again, morons?"

Izuku couldn't help but snicker a bit, only to be slapped upside the back of his head by his mother, "No dear, we aren't, and they are called Mormons. My name is Inko and this is my son Izuku, we are here to pick up Mina."

(I'm going to put my disclaimer right here. I have no issue with Mormons and don't discriminate against them in the least. It just seemed like an innocent mistake a child might make. If any of you reading this are easily offended by this type of thing then please keep in mind that I meant no offense.)

The boy's eyes fell to Izuku, "Ohhh! You're that guy. By the way, my sister talked about you I thought you'd be taller. She said you were super tough even though you don't have a quirk. How about a fight?"

Izuku looked over the boy, he was probably all of eight years old, "I'll take a rain check on the fight."

Just then a woman could be seen descending the steps. The first thing that the green-headed family noticed was that she was exceptionally plain looking. She had dark hair and blue eyes and wore a long sundress with spring colors splashed randomly coloring it. Not to say the woman wasn't pretty, she just didn't have the visual uniqueness that the Midoriya's had been expecting after seeing the two children.

Obviously the woman picked up on their confusion as she noted, "Yes, I am their mother. My husband is a semipro hero and is still at work at the moment. Believe it or not, the different skin colors they possess are because of me as well."

Unconsciously, Izuku began theorizing aloud, "Hmm, a quirk that could result in a pigmentation change of one's children. Reptilian color change? Unlikely, but possible. No, to get both of those colors then maybe...yes."

The mumbling boy met the woman's eyes, "Do you have some type of thermal quirk?"

That guess earned him an overly affectionate hug into the well-developed chest of a woman he'd never met before, "You got it! She told us you were smart but you must be a genius to have figure out my quirk like that."

Izuku felt glad his arms were hugged to his sides because he wasn't sure what he should be doing, "It really wasn't that big a deal. If you take into account what the two colors could represent then it's elementary."

"I think you can let the poor boy go now mom. I'm sure he didn't expect to be getting to second base on this date," chimed in a voice the quirkless boy recognized.

He noticed a pout on the woman's face who had just been crushing the life out of him, "I just couldn't help myself. He's such a cutie. And look, his hair is all frizzy just like yours."

Now in plain sight, Izuku notice his friend's attire. She wore a pink top that was a few shades darker than her skin, it had short sleeves and a became more constricting around the waist. The flowing black skirt she wore ended just above her right knee and around her shin on the left leg, complemented by knee-high boots. He had to admit that she looked very nice.

"Hey Mina, nice save, it's good to see you again. Congrats again on being accepted," Izuku thanked her.

"Thank goodness for Rescue Points. I mean, I smashed a few of those things, but most of my points came from saving people from the big zero pointer," she snickered.

"Oh yeah," Izuku thought and ran to their car, bringing back a small black vase looking object, "Mrs. Ashida, what are your favorite flowers?"

One arm folded across the woman's chest supporting the other than held her chin, "Well, I've always been fond of chrysanthemums."

Mina watched as her friend tapped his watch and swiped down his arm. To her surprise, the action caused two-dimensional holographic screens to appear above his arm. Using his mobile virtual console the boy entered some commands into the keyboard that was displayed on his left forearm. In the vase, three flowers seemed to grow from nothing, each a rainbow of colors.

"How lovely," stated the woman with applause.

"You haven't seen anything yet. Here, go put some water in this please," Izuku chuckled after handing the vase to Mina's little brother who was back moments later, "Now smell."

This comment earned him an odd look from the pink girl, "Smell, but they're fake?"

Her mother did as was suggested and her eye's widened, "Oh my, they smell divine. How did you do this?"

Crossing his arms, the young genius gave a toothy grin, "All nanotech. They look, feel, and using water even smell real. I programmed the nanomachines to synthesize the smells attributed to the flowers. I found a genetic breakdown of the structure of the flower and used that to create the scent."

Inko laughed and shook her head, "That's my son the genius. Nice to meet you face to face, it was Amelia wasn't it?"

Amelia nodded, "It is, and that must make you Inko, such a pleasure to meet you. Raising such a brilliant boy must be exciting."

The telekinetic woman's laugh was slightly hollow this time, "Most of the time. Still, raising a child who could outsmart you by the time he was in fifth grade presented with challenges of its own."

The forgotten little boy snickered beside his mother, "How did you end up friends with Mina then? She couldn't outsmart her own shirts."

Mina growled at her brother, "You try putting a shirt on with horns and see how easy it is you little ice pop."

"That's enough you two," Mina's mother scolded, "Why don't you head on you three head on your way. Have a great time Mina, if you're home late just remember to lock up."

The horned girl gave her mom a funny look, "We're just going to dinner mom. I shouldn't be home that late."

Amelia placed a gentle hand on her cheek, "Well, just in case. No need to hurry home, you kids have fun tonight."

They all nodded and said their goodbyes. As Izuku walked to the car his feeling he was forgetting something came back full force. His mother had seemed like she was up to something and from the odd way Mrs. Ahshido had been speaking, she might be in on it. With a sigh, Izuku realized that in lieu of remembering whatever it was, all he could do is stay on his toes.

 **-Inari's Palace-**

"Wow, this place is snazzy," chirped the excitable pink-haired teen.

Izuku looked around, "I guess so, mom and I come here so often that it's just another place really."

Before Mina could comment on her disbelief that was written on her face the waiter arrived, "Good eve- Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Midoriya, it's so good to have you again. It seems you've brought a guest with you as well, welcome to Inari's palace. The usual booth?"

Mrs. Midoriya simply nodded and they were lead towards a small set of stairs taking them to a second level. Mina just looked around, open-mouthed and wide-eyed, at the extravagant restaurant before her. A grand piano was on a small platform and several feet away was a beautiful fountain shaped like a nine-tailed fox, the water coming from the tips of the tails.

Before the stunned girl could trip into the fountain the teen inventor redirected her to the table, receiving only a stunned "thanks" for his efforts. Izuku chuckled lightly as he pulled out the seat for Mina. This actually seemed to bring the girl out of her stupor as she blushed slightly at the action, having never had a guy pull a chair for her before. The young woman appreciated the fact that he even performed the same gentlemanly service for his mother.

The waiter left them with some water and menus promising to return shortly for their order.

With a sigh of relief, the acid user found she could read her menu. Honestly, at this point, she was sure it'd either be in another language or one of those places that didn't even list prices. She'd never been to one of those places but was starting to get the feeling that the two here with her tonight had.

"Something wrong," inquired Inko.

Pink hair bobbed as the girl shook her head, "No, I was just glad the menu wasn't full of food that I had never heard of before. The place looks really ritzy."

Mrs. Midoriya laughed, "Sorry about that, Izuku choose the place tonight. He just insisted on bringing you here."

Izuku knew the war had begun again, "Of course I chose, we're taking a guest out. If I'd let you choose, knowing you, you'd have put the decision off to the last minute and we'd have probably ended up at IKEA and had to build our own table."

Mina broke out into laughter at that, "Wow, Tony, you don't hold back do you?"

Inko raised an eyebrow, "Tony?"

Fielding the questions in the order they came he answered them, "Mom and I never really hold back against one another. She calls me Tony based off of an old comic book character that my nanotech suit reminds her of."

Both girls shared a look that simply said, "oh" and returned to looking at the menu. The fact of the matter was both Midoriya's knew what they were getting, they got the same thing every time after all. Inko got a sushi platter while Izuku got the Inari Kitsune special, a white curry dish. Mina ended up just going with a vegetable stir-fry.

Dinner was proceeding well but when his mother placed her chopsticks down Izuku knew the interrogation had begun, "So Ms. Ashido, how exactly did you and my son meet? He told me of course, but I'd love to hear it from the other side."

The girl had to finish chewing and swallow before she could answer, "Now that is a funny story. Right off the bat I could tell something was off when he distanced himself from everyone else. I was too focused on the test to really talk to people, but it was hard to notice him keeping his distance from everybody. Then some blond dude starts yelling at him and charging over, announcing the fact that he has no quirk to everybody."

Mrs. Midoriya nodded, but wondered why her son had left that boy out of his retelling. It was then that she noticed the smirk on the pink girl's face as she continued.

"Thing is, smarty pants here acts like he has no idea who the guy is, sending blondy into a rage spiral. I could tell he was just trying to tick off the already agitated guy, but it was kinda funny. Then Iron Man here tells everybody that he's gonna show 'em who's boss and proceeds to put on his armor and does just that."

Inko listened to the story she heard and felt like she was missing something between the two versions, "So how exactly did all of that lead to you pleading his case with the test administrator?"

Mina blushed a bit, "Heard about that did ya? Well, yeah, I mean he was cocky and all that, but he just didn't seem like a bad guy. He came and found me fighting some of them after he finished off most of the robots but didn't just take my points like he could have. He also saved a bunch of people from the zero point boss monster, something we had no reason to think would help us at all. It was then that I was sure he was a good guy. Plus, with him being so strong and all even though he's quirkless, the idea of them discriminating against him really rubbed me the wrong way ya know."

The green haired woman nodded, "Believe you me, I know what you mean. My son has had to fight against that type of prejudice his entire life. The reason I invited you out tonight was to thank you. You are the first person to really fight for him without an ulterior motive. Of course, I fight for him, but I'm his mother. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you Ms. Ashido."

The pink teen began to quickly wave off the woman's deep gratitude, "It's not that big of a deal, really. I just did it 'cause I wanted to. He's a good guy and deserves to be treated the same as everybody else."

"Regardless, thank you," Inko repeated with a slight bow of her head.

Izuku thought he'd rather be anywhere than stuck in this embarrassing situation until he found his way out.

"Mr. Midoriya," called his waiter.

Looking at the man who seated them standing beside the manager who they'd met a few times he asked, "What can I do for you Mr. Ushida?"

"Well, I was hoping that in return for comping your meal you'd be willing to help us with some entertainment this evening. We have some state guests dining here this evening and our pianist has come down with the flu," the manager humbly pleaded with him, slight desperation in his eyes.

That was something the teen truly didn't want to do in front of a girl he'd soon be going to school with. He'd only performed the first time because of a conversation he'd engaged in with the usual piano player. He had turned out to be quite the hit and the manager had offered him a free meal if he'd come and play for them again some time. He'd always turned down the offer since then.

"You play the piano," was the stunned question from Mina.

His mother's face lit up, only he saw the mischief in her eyes, "Oh yes, he's wonderful. Please play us something Izuku, it would mean so much to me. Wouldn't you also like to hear him play miss Ashido?"

The elated expression from the pink haired teen said it all, "That'd be awesome! Genius inventor and musician, what's next? Don't tell me you sing too?"

A quick glance to his mother told her not to say a word, "Nope, not a bit. What about you, do you sing?"

"Well, I-" she began before he cut her off.

"That's great, you can help," he volunteered her and dragged her to the small stage.

Mina looked at him with an exasperated expression, "I don't even know what you're playing."

The apparent piano player brought up a visual screen and flicked it in front of the girl, "You heard of that one before?"

Nervously she nodded.

"Great," he gave her a wicked grin, "We're on in two minutes."

(If you want to hear the song, just do a search for Soredemo Sekai wa utsukushii - Beautiful rain.)

Credit where credit's due, both teens traded impressed glances with one another as the song progressed. Mina had obviously been a bit embarrassed as the song began but quickly fell into it. Not one to be easily deterred, she quickly embraced the song and blocked out everything but the sound and the boy playing the piano, it was their world now.

Being a bit of a nerd herself, Mina had seen the show that this song came from. In all honesty, she was surprised _he_ had. It was a song about feelings, honest, deep down emotions, and sharing them with others.

'Maybe this is his way of saying thanks,' she wondered.

The performers were so swept up that they nearly forgot they had an audience. Well, that is until the applause began. The two received a standing ovation, a few encores, and even a whistle from the lone mother standing beside their abandoned table.

The reluctant performers bowed before returning to their seats. At this point, Izuku was ready to get out of there. He would have like to have learned a bit more about his classmate tonight, but events had been taken out of his hands. If nothing else happened then he would be grateful. Unfortunately, the nights' festivities had only just begun for the two unaware teens.

 **A/N: As I'm posting two chapters at once, I'll just hold off on the note till the next one.**


	6. Date Night pt 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **Chapter 6- Date Night part 2- Dresses, Gala's, Dancing...and Romance?**

Izuku sulked with his head in his arms as he sat at his desk. He'd made a grand entrance on his first day of school and certainly made an impression yet, something haunted him. No, not something, someone haunted him. After what had happened, and what it had turned into, how could he not dread seeing her again?

A tapping on his shoulder brought his green eyes to golden ones.

"Hey Ashido."

Her arms crossed she raised an eyebrow, "Ashido? Oh, I think we're way past using family names, don't you...fiancee."

Izuku groaned again and thunked his head against his desk as he recalled exactly how he'd gotten into this mess.

 **-Back to that night- After Dinner-**

"Mom," Izuku began, "Why are you getting into a limo?"

His mother just looked back at the teens innocently, "Oh this, I just thought we'd go for a pleasant ride. Who knows where the night might take us?"

Mina was bouncing slightly at the idea of her first limo ride.

The teen boy that followed looked at his mother, "Why do I feel like you know exactly where this night might lead?"

Mock indignation appeared on Inko's face, "That you wouldn't trust your own mother. I'm hurt Izuku."

"Wounded even," he smirked.

"Deeply," she replied, feigning the need to wipe away a tear.

And like that, the trio set off once more. As the sun went down all the lights of town came on. Spending most of his time in the lab, Izuku wasn't very familiar with the town. Mina figured this out pretty fast and began giving him her version of a tour. Basically, it was a rundown of all the coolest spots to hang out and what to find there.

When the limo finally came to a stop the green haired boy looked over the store they were parked beside. His eyes shot over to his mother whose mischievous gaze could no longer be hidden. She had a plan, he just knew it.

"Mom, what are we doing here? Don't we need to be getting Mina home," he asked in hopes of attaining some form of information.

The pink girl pouted a bit but the boy's mother had it handled, "Of course not, after all, the dinner was your idea and I have yet to be able to properly think miss Ashido yet. Come on inside dear, we'll find you a beautiful dress to match the lovely hair and skin color.

"Heck yeah, let's do it," shouted the easily excitable girl.

Izuku accepted his fate and followed the two girls inside the store. As it had appeared from the outside, it was an upscale clothing store. However, much of its inventory was geared towards formal wear. His mother was getting them dressed up for something fancy, now he just had to figure out what.

He felt as though he was onto something when he felt his shoulders jerk.

Inko knew that given too much information her son would surely figure things out. She wasn't all that surprised he had forgotten, he never went to these things even though he was the first to defend their importance. That's when she noticed her son still standing near the entrance to the building. An arm crossed across his sternum to support the one currently holding his chin and tapping away, this was his thinking pose.

"Ashido, why don't you go drag Izuku over here while I find him a cute tux to try on. It's fun to get the boys suited up from time to time as well, right," asked the green haired mother without relaying her desperation.

The scheming mother knew that for this to work she had to have her son almost at the event before he caught on. She had to make sure that he didn't have enough time to put the pieces together.

Happy to oblige, Mina hopped over to Izuku and grabbed him by the shoulders, "Let's go Tony. Mother dearest and I are gonna play dress up with you."

"Huh," was all he managed before he was stumbling to keep up with her.

Izuku had decided it, 'This woman is a formidable opponent.'

The next hour was spent in a blur of color and costumes. Finally, his mother had settled on a solid black dress. It was rather elegant, sleeveless, and had a high slit up the left leg. Mina ended up with a dark pink number that hugged her frame and came down to make a short skirt. A secondary piece combined with it that was worn almost like a coat and came together in the front at a single tie forming a long, loose skirt that opened in the front and ended just before the floor. Inko refused to let her see the price tag when Izuku got a look at it he understood why. You could pay some peoples rent with that kind of money.

His plan to go simple had backfired royally when the girls threatened to make him wear a tiger stripe suit if he didn't find a better one. They didn't sell tacky suit's like that here, but he didn't doubt his mother's ability to find one. If he was being honest with himself, the enthusiasm that Mina brought to the whole event had kept it from being entirely unbearable. His final choice was reminiscent of his suit colors, dark green slacks and blazer with a golden button up beneath it, a dark green tie was added for good measure.

After taking Mina to the car, to avoid her seeing the price of the clothes they had worn out of the store, Izuku pondered things. He figured this might be his last shot at piecing things together.

"Hey Tony," came the voice of the now somewhat nervous girl.

Opening one eye he looked over at her, "Yeah Pepper?"

Her face lit up, just as he'd known it would, "You read it?!"

The suited teen smirked, "Figured I should check it out. You seemed to like it, and you seem pretty cool, so I just figured why not."

The horned girl's smile threatened to tear her face in half, "I thought when I saw your messenger image you might have just done a search and pulled that up. It's so cool that you actually looked into it."

"Well yeah, I mean, we're friends right," he commented, favoring her with one of his rare honest smiles.

Mina felt like she could melt right there from the sight. Of course, she knew that all the feelings she was developing were slightly shallow, even after all the things she'd found out about him. Yes, she liked all the things she'd learned. She even thought his slightly arrogant streak was kind of cute. Still, accepting the fact that these were probably just her teenage hormones running wild over a boy she found attractive she ignored them. It was only a passing thing, right?

A screech at the door of the limo brought both teens heads snapping. There stood Ms. Midoryia bouncing with all the giddy joy of a six-year-old after three cups of coffee. It was amusing and frightening all at the same time.

The woman raced over to the pink haired teen and took both of her hands, "How did you do it?"

Wide eyed and mouth open Mina tilted her head slightly, "Do what?"

"That smile," squeaked the fully grown woman, "That's his Disney World smile. His happiest place on Earth smile. The smile that says he's really truly happy."

Before the girl could even respond she had been wrapped in a hug. Izuku was filled with an odd sense of deja vu and recalled encountering his friend's mother. It seemed they were both in for that treatment tonight. Smiling like that was actually starting to hurt Izuku's face, but the sight of his mother so tickled kept it firmly in place.

"Is it really such a big deal," questioned the puzzled teen as she fought for air.

Izuku shrugged in response, "Mom's usually a pretty serious go-getter, but when it comes to me she can be a bit...silly."

Feeling the limo take off once more Inko took her seat and pouted at her son, "Well, I'm sorry that I'm silly. I didn't know loving my son was a crime."

"It is," he deadpanned at her, "In most countries actually."

"Mohhh, you're so mean. Why must you reject my love," bantered the dramatic mother.

Mina had about as much as she could handle and burst out into laughter. The girl could honestly barely stay in her seat. Her head ending up Inko's lap as she fell over in her fit of giggles. Mother and son exchanged curious glances before bursting into laughter themselves.

A few minutes later the girl sat up once more and wiped the tears from her eyes, "You two are just too much. Izuku you have to have, like, the coolest mom ever."

The young genius nodded, "You've got that right. The best."

An honest blush graced the young mother's cheeks, "Well thank you miss Ashido. I know that our banter can be a bit much for a newcomer, but I'd say you fit in quite well. I'll be honest, we've got one more stop tonight and it will keep us out quite late. Don't worry though, your parents are aware of my plans and are aware that you won't be home until well after your curfew."

"What could keep us out so..." Izuku trailed off as it finally dawned on him, "The Gala."

The smile on his mother's face left the woman looking like the cat who ate the canary. So this had been her scheme. She knew he didn't like to go, and she knew why too. The young inventor wasn't a petty person, he just wasn't that fond of the press around the night's benefactor.

"Yep, I was asked to host this year so no trying to get out of it," the boy's mother chided.

Shoulders slumped in resignation he accepted his fate.

Mina, taking note of this, couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with this Gala or whatever?"

Inko looked a bit nervous for a moment before explaining, "Well, the thing is that the whole Gala started a few years back mysteriously. Rumors about its origin are still a popular affair. It's really an award ceremony that showcases that years biggest innovations in the support field. Izuku has been nominated several times. There are cash prizes and everything, but Izuku doesn't do it for the money. Plus, most of the big projects he releases have been done under an alias since he is underage. He just has some secrets that he'd prefer remain secrets."

Mina had to admit that she liked a good mystery, and this boy was turning out to be an enigma wrapped in a Gordian's knot. The excitement started bubbling up inside her as they pulled up to a red carpet entrance.

"Great, it's an even bigger thing than it was," Izuku sighed.

"Of course," his mother laughed, "It is hosted by the famous Taurus Silver after all. His innovations have saved hundreds of heroes worldwide."

Mina's eyes widened, "THE Taurus Silver, developer of Sympathreads. The hottest thing in hero wear due to its ability to adapt to any hero quirk."

The green haired boy groaned, "Please don't remind me."

"Okay kids, I'll head out. Wait till I'm about halfway down the carpet and then follow," she instructed.

"Sure thing Ms. Midoriya," mock saluted the hyper teen.

Hardly two feet out of the car and the flashes of cameras could be seen. People could be heard asking the woman all sorts of questions from, 'who are you wearing tonight,' to, 'do you know if we'll see Mr. Silver tonight,' and finishing with the odd ones, 'Any lucky man in your life?'

Mina watched Izuku drag a hand over his face. She giggled when she noticed his cocky expression take the place of the depressed one. He was literally putting on a metaphorical mask.

As he stepped out first he offered her a hand and a smile, "You ready?"

The pink haired teen mustered her courage and smiled, "Now or never."

Camera flashes assaulted the two teens and Mina had to fight not to cover her eyes. To her shock, Izuku didn't even seem phased by all the attention. As if she was anchored to him, he gently led her through the crowd of reporters and journalists.

"Izuku Midoriya!"

"Mr. Midoriya, how many awards did you get nominated to win this year?"

"Izuku, who is that with you?"

Even though this wasn't really her scene, the acid user was surprised that her friend seemed to be such a big deal and she'd never heard of him before the exam. The questions didn't seem to stop. Admittedly, she was surprised how many of them directed at her. Or, at least they were about her but still to him.

I felt the blush rise in my cheeks again as he brought me close. It seemed that the media created a choke point at the door.

'Does he realize how uncomfortable I would be if he let me go,' she wondered.

Walking us up to a desk Izuku addressed the young woman seated there, "Izuku Midoriya, and this is my plus one for the evening."

The dark haired woman sat there in her black gown, smiling at him, "Mr. Midoriya, we can't tell you how pleased we are that you made it out this year. And you brought a _guest,_ how nice for her."

The horned teen didn't miss the dismissive tone and look that the attendant had given her. It seemed like her friend was quite popular in these circles. She snickered at the thought of having bagged herself one of the stars for the evening. Mina wasn't shallow, but it was fun to rub it in the faces of snotty girls like that.

Hugging closer into Izuku so that her chest was pressed against him Mina smiled venomously at the dark haired woman, "Come on Izuku, let's go take a seat sweetie."

"Sure thing gorgeous," he said nonchalantly while leading her a good distance away, "Sweetie?"

"Oh come on, that girl was totally giving you 'the look' ya know. Even though this may not be a date, she didn't know that. Had to kinda mark my territory. No hussy is gonna just walk up and take my man for the evening," stated the pink haired girl proudly with a hand on her hip.

A devious smirk appeared on his face, "Your man, am I? I feel as though I should have been informed."

Mina laughed, "I've seen you at work, Mr. Stark. You'll have to do better than that to embarrass me now."

One eyebrow raised the quirkless young man grinned, "Challenge accepted."

A lavish hall filled with tables covered in white linen stretched out before the pair. A small table of finger foods and beverages was off to one side while each table was set with rolls, champagne, and water. A grand chandelier hung above it all reflecting multiple colored lights that had been directed at it. A large screen sat behind the small stage that otherwise had only a speaker and a table filled with award placards.

"Spiffy," commented the exuberant teen.

"It should be. The heroes get all the real attention, but if it weren't for people like this who work tirelessly at figuring out ways to keep heroes safe then half of them would be dead by now. The truth is that many heroes are just average people with an impressive quirk who think that playing hero is fun. That's why I had no issue washing out as many people as I could in our exam. Better failed than dead," commented the young genius with a conviction that the girl had never heard before, it made her heart flutter slightly.

As promised, Izuku's mother came from behind a curtain calling everyone to order. After giving a special thanks to the mysterious host, Taurus Silver, a man who had never been seen in public, she began the awards. The categories were wide and recognized work in both broad and specialized fields. The awards were voted on by a large panel of judges who headed affairs in the support world. The most surprising thing for the pink haired girl was that her 'date' won three awards himself. One for a medical invention that came in the form of a shot which could help a hero who was bleeding out to clot faster and perhaps hang on until help could arrive. The other two both dealt with quirk user gear improvements and were praised for being revolutionary.

For all his cockiness and bravado at the exam, the Izuku who accepted the awards was far more humble. He seemed especially proud of his medical device winning an award. It really showed her a whole new side to him. The thing that made him stand out the most was perhaps that he was at least a decade younger than any other award recipient.

Izuku was very proud of his mother. The woman had become quite the figure in the support community and was often scouted by actual hero agencies. All of the publicity she had taken part in for NextGen Industries, as well as humanitarian efforts within the community, where her quirk came in handy, had lifted her to the status of a minor celebrity. The teen could admit that his mother was an attractive woman and truly hoped that she might find someone to spend her life with, he just hoped it was someone who would love her for herself.

Looking over at his guest, who was clearly a bit bored he smirked, "Hey, you wanna get out of here?"

Her face lit up at the suggestion, "I thought you'd never ask."

Sneaking out the back had been an easy affair. Of course, some sleazeball photographers had been back there and they'd had to make a run for it. It was then that Mina was glad that she'd gotten flats with her dress instead of heels.

About a half mile away from the even Mina giggled breathlessly, "Wow, they were really dedicated huh?"

Izuku nodded, "Anything for a good photo. Mom's gotten pretty popular and unfortunately, I've attracted my own attention."

"Well of course you have," the teen praised her friend, "All of those cool gadgets you've invented, and all the people they might save, how could you not be?"

The green-haired boy smirked back at her, "Had you even heard of me before the exam?"

"Well, no but...who cares? I mean, I've never really thought about stuff like that. So, of course, I'd be a bit out of the loop," she explained, hoping he'd understand that she really did think his accomplishments were special.

"It's no big deal, after all, I'm going to be the biggest name out there one of these days. And when I've climbed to the top and everyone knows my name, it'll be for the right reasons," his words carried such conviction that Mina was really starting to believe him.

Feeling the need for a topic change Mina ran ahead a bit and twirled, letting her dress fly, "So Tony, we've had a pretty magical evening so far, what's next?"

"Hmm," Izuku scratched his chin a bit, "Well, we've had dinner, music, a big event, I think… I've got it."

Izuku really didn't know the area, that was true, but he remembered everything he'd seen. Leading the girl he barely knew to a small park they passed he began hacking into the sound system in the park. He really wasn't sure what he was doing, well, he knew _what_ he was doing, just not the why. In the end, he chalked it up to the fact that this girl had made a bad night far more bearable and this was a small way of saying thanks.

Finally stopping in the middle of the park Mina grabbed her 'date', "Okay, now can you tell me why we're here?"

"Do you trust me," asked the young man with a confident smirk on his face.

"Yeah," she answered without even actually thinking about it.

Bowing slightly he offered her a hand, "Dance with me."

Her hand found its way into his as her cheeks took on a violet hue, "O-Okay."

As she grasped his hand he tapped his arm console once more as music came over the park's PA system. It only took Mina a moment to recognize the song, it was Merry Go Round of Life. It seemed like she wasn't the only one interested in old-school media.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you," mused the pink teen.

His smirk grew in reply, "You haven't seen anything yet."

As he tapped his console once more it disappeared and they began to dance, Moments later, water erupted from the ground where once they had stood. With every way, and every movement it seemed like the water followed them. Mina was very glad he knew how to dance because this type of dancing wasn't in her repertoire.

As the song progressed, the water began to shoot up in intricate and decorative patterns. Small lights also flickered on an off in intricate patterns. In short, it was beautiful. By the time the song ended both teens were a bit winded. First, they had run from the paparazzi, then as they danced they were basically running from the water jets.

Both young heroes were smiling and laughing at this point. Leaning back, both heads rolled until they were facing each other. It had been a long interesting evening, and both were happy with the ending. Izuku had already texted his mother and she had sent a service to pick them up.

"Well Izuku, you certainly know how to show a girl a good time," joked the tired girl as she gave him a slow clap.

Izuku breathed out a laugh, "I do aim to please. Had to please my _woman_ now didn't I?"

"Ouch, you brought it back. Well then, just hope that some other guys can't show me a better time. A girl has to keep her options open," her tongue stuck out at him.

"Running around on me already, eh," he was impressed that she could keep up with his banter.

She mirrored his smirk, "You know what mama says, if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it."

"Hold that thought," his smile grew even more devious now as he ran to a twenty-four-hour convenience store that sat just outside the park.

Mina was standing and brushing herself off when Izuku came running back. She leaned a bit trying to see what he was blatantly hiding behind his back, but to no avail.

Izuku took a deep, steadying breath for emphasis, "Mina, there are only a few decisions in a man's life that he has to seriously think about, what to have for dinner, leave the toilet seat up or down, the important stuff. After all of the fun we've had tonight I've come to another one of those decisions."

This was a joke, obviously. Still, something about where this was going left Mina a bit weak in the knees.

"...Izuku?"

Taking a knee Izuku pulled out what he was hiding behind his back. With all of the money he had, Izuku could have dropped several hundred on an actual diamond ring and it still would have been a joke to him. Presenting his pink haired friend with a ring pop that matched her skin tone just seemed funnier.

"Will you let me put a ring on it?"

Having been one of the most hilarious, ridiculous things she'd ever seen as Izuku slipped the ring pop on her finger, both were about to break out into gut busting laughter. That is until someone just had to come along and ruin the moment...with a camera flash.

"Izuku," Mina said slowly.

"Yeah Mina," his reply was lifeless.

"What just happened?"

Izuku gulped, "I am so screwed."

 **A/N: Finally! I've finished these two chapters. A little explanation first. I'm going to have a proper Izuku meets the parents' scene later on in the story, but I figured it would be better if they were actually dating before I had it. Second, these two chapters were meant to be one but they just got too long.**

 **So, I'm not sure if any of you have read Quirkless Hero but you should, it's a good read. The idea of a quirkless Izuku, and a spiderman fic I saw were what inspired me to do this story. The author for that story and I have talked a bit recently and that's partially why these two chapters were delayed. His story has started going into a sort of iron man direction and that was upsetting. I would like to state that while we both have unique and different stories there may be some overlapping ideas. Neither of us are plagiarizing the other but I hope this doesn't deter you from either story.**

 **Now, what did you guys think? As it is labeled, this story is a romance and it will be filthy with it. Mina will be the one person that he lets his walls down around, at least for a while. He's still the same cocky youth you've come to know in my story, but there is more too him.**

 **One major thing I want to address. My computer has apparently auto-corrected me every time I put in Niko, and made it Ni** **k** **o. The idea was that his computer system's name would be Niko, a rearranged version of his mother's name Inko, an anagram. I won't be going back and fixing every occurrence but wanted you guys to know.**

 **Last thing. I had decided to make the OchakoXBakugo pairing for this story due to a reader request. This has gotten so much heat that it has blown me away. For this reason, I have placed a poll on my page. If you want me to keep the pairing or get rid of it please let me know. I was only doing it to please my readers and didn't know it had so much hate. So please let me know. Till the next time.**


	7. Starting School

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or any referenced anime within.**

 **Chapter 7: Starting School**

Izuku groaned into his desk. The pink-haired teen who he had been caught 'proposing to' was now reminding him of the night he'd like to forget. Not only had his mother got the better of him, but he'd been forced into the spotlight. To make matters worse, the entire image he'd been trying to cultivate might be destroyed.

"Oh, don't be a big baby," Mina laughed, "I'm sure it's not that big a deal. Most of the kids in class with us probably don't even read the kind of magazines that a photo like that would be published in. Besides, we know it's a big misunderstanding and we had a pretty great time after all."

She was right. He knew that any story coming from that photo wouldn't hit any major magazines. The only people who likely read magazines in this class were the girls and he somehow doubted that any of them read something like that.

A long sigh began to escape his lips until a new voice chimed in, "Oh, it's you two. Congratulations on your engagement."

Choking in the midst of his sigh, this newcomer had caught him entirely off guard. Mina began patting his back as he faced the speaker. It turned out to be a girl decked out in the female version of the school uniform. Her black hair was tied into a high ponytail and had bent down to check on him, putting our young hero far too close to the girl's abundant chest for his liking. In his attempt to quickly lean away, however, the back of his head came into contact with two soft objects.

Slowly, Izuku's head tilted back and the first thing he noticed was pink hair, "Oh, hey Mina."

Her cheeks burned a bit, but it didn't stop the flirtatious smirk from spreading across her face, "My, my Izuku, rather forward for the first day in class aren't you?"

'Oh screw that noise. I'm not about to let her get the best of me. I'm starting to be really thankful that she turned me on to that comic series,' thought the quirkless teen.

"Well, ya know, it's comfy here," he said with a wink.

Mina's cheeks burned a bit more violet before the girl next to them cleared her throat, "Oh, right, sorry about that. We're not really engaged or anything like that, we just like to joke around. Not to be rude but...who are you?"

The girl's dark almost cat shaped eyes widened, "I haven't introduced myself, have I? My apologies. My name is Momo Yaoyorozu, I got in on recommendation so I didn't take the test. I've noticed a few people here already know each other from the test so I'm trying to meet people."

"Well I'm Mina Ashido, and this here is-"

"Oh! I know who _he_ is. We're talking about top youth inventor Izuku Midoriya, quirkless genius inventor and recluse, here. Of course I know all about him, he's part of the competition after all," stated the girl proudly with an air of sophistication.

Mina's head tilted a bit in confusion while Izuku eyed the girl a bit more carefully, "You seem to know an awful lot about me Miss Yaoyorozu. I'm not sure exactly how you and I are in competition for anything though."

Momo waved her hand nonchalantly, "It's not you per se. All of your work has been given to NextGen Industries, and that helped push it into the of number one spot of support industries. My parents are partial owners on the board of directors for the former number one company, OmniTech Inc. All that said, it's really nice to mee-"

"DEKU!"

"Ya know Mina," Izuku turned back towards her, "Interruptions seem to be the theme of the day."

"Don't ignore me loser," Bakugo continued to yell as he stormed towards the quirkless teen, "You may have won the first round, but I'll totally crush you next time."

". . . . . Who are you again," questioned Izuku.

Mina chuckled while Bakugo raged, "You damn nerd!"

"Everyone get to your seats and be quiet. If you're here to pall around then you are in the wrong place and should go home," commanded the forceful voice from the doorway.

Everyone quickly took a seat as the strange new man came into the room. The man's long messy hair, stubble, and the bags under his eyes spoke of his lack of sleep. The quirkless student's eyes took in the goggles and scarf, instantly he knew who the man was.

Taking his spot behind the podium the man addressed the class once more, "It took you all twenty seconds to sit down and get quiet. My first impression of this class is...underwhelmed."

Roll call really helped Izuku get a sense of things. The young boy's favorite thing about quirks was probably how different that they made people, one of the several reasons he found Mina to be so pleasant to be around. Of course, Izuku had no real issue with quirks, just peoples over-reliance on them.

"Everyone follow me outside for a skills assessment," announced the teacher.

The overly energetic, spectacled boy raised his hand, "Excuse me, aren't we supposed to attend the orientation assembly?"

Mr. Aizawa gave him a tired look, "You are in the hero course, and this is high school. If you do not understand the basics of what school life is or what is expected of you at this point the go home and quit wasting my time."

That shut the overly enthusiastic boy up quick enough as we filed out. Looks of nervousness and excitement were plain to see amongst some of the class while a few seemed oddly indifferent. Izuku's only real concern was proving that he was the best. Ideally, the verdant haired boy wanted to get an idea of what his classmate's quirks were. A very, 'know your enemy', philosophy he'd come to use when dealing with his classmates.

Now assembled in a large field, Aizawa began his instruction, "This will be very similar to the skills tests you have done in school thus far, except now you will use your quirks."

Cheers were heard throughout the class. Izuku only barely noticed Mina sneaking up on him.

"What can I do for you Mina," he asked casually.

The pink haired girl pouted a bit, "Oh man, and here I thought I could scare you."

Izuku smirked at that, "Scare me? You look about as intimidating as a stuffed animal."

The quirkless teen refused to admit how musical the girl's laugh sounded him, "Jerk. So, how do you think you'll do on the test? Do you think Mr. Aizawa will let you use your gadgets?"

Izuku froze for a moment. He hadn't stopped to consider that. Yes, the students were allowed to use their quirks, but that didn't mean that he could use his tech. In fact, he probably would not be allowed too.

Having ignored the quick demo Mr. Aizawa had Bakugo preform, it was the teachers final warning that caught his attention, "Oh, and one last thing. The student with the lowest score will be dropped from the program."

Fear caught in Izuku's throat as he thought of it, 'Dropped from the program? After coming this far?'

It was fortunate, Izuku thought, that he knew Mr. Aizawa from outside of class. The capture scarf that the man used was created using materials that he had made. It was the green-haired boy himself that had delivered the scarf to the man. That was the reason why Izuku knew that the man would understand the question on his mind when they locked eyes. He was very aware of the boy's condition after all. It was also the reason that fear grew in the pit of his stomach as the man shook his head, no.

Most of the quirk using students performed exceptionally well in two or three of the nine categories and did fair on the rest. A few of them, with more flexible quirks, did very well on five or six of the tests. Izuku, however, had performed great...for someone without a quirk, but he simply couldn't match a score like infinite that the girl with the gravity quirk had achieved during the ball toss. He was quite proud of Mina though, who he only watched because he was evaluating her quirk...of course. Izuku couldn't decide if her quirk gave her some form of strength enhancement but the girl's acid didn't really give her an advantage in these tests, yet she'd scored extremely well.

In the end, as Izuku's eyes fell upon the scoreboard, he scanned from the bottom up.

"Minoru Mineta."

With a sigh, realizing his score wasn't the lowest he looked up. Truth be told, he figured he wouldn't be, but it was hard for him to evaluate how things were scored. As he scanned up, he kept looking for his name. His eyes kept rising until they reached number five.

Laughing outrageously, he looked at his fellow students who stared back in confusion, "Are you guys kidding me? I got fifth place, and look, Mina got third. I don't have a quirk and hers isn't even suited for this type of thing. You guys want to be heroes, please. I wasn't even using my gear and blew most of you out of the water."

Izuku had expected anger and cursing, yet most of what he was met with was shame. Sure, Bakugo looked pissed, even though he was one of the few to beat the quirkless teen's score, but many just looked so...hurt. It almost made him regret what he'd said, almost.

Before he could say anything else a pink blur appeared in front of him, "Sorry about him guys. Don't mind his ranting. He's always been given a really hard time by people with quirks so he's a little bitter."

Izuku wanted to argue with her, but as she bowed to them in his place, he just...couldn't find the words.

"Please, forgive him."

Grabbing her by the wrist, Izuku drug her off to the side, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Me!?" She shouted in exasperation, "What about you? None of them have done anything to you, except that really angry guy I guess, but you were so mean to them. I don't get it Izuku, I know you aren't a bad guy. Why are you trying to make enemies? We're classmates, we're supposed to work together...or am I your enemy too."

 _Yes, is what I wanted to say. I should go ahead and tell her that by having a quirk, that nature had pitted her against me, but I couldn't. The thought of not being her friend made me feel empty inside. Was I really going about this the wrong way? And why...why did she sound so broken?_

"No, you're not my enemy. Mina, I know you think you understand but you don't. It has always been me versus everyone with quirks. They've always looked down on me, so I have to prove here and now that having a quirk doesn't make you better than me," the boy's explanation felt a little weak even to him.

It was useless to make calculations around Mina, the girl simply defied logic. Trying to predict what she would do next was like playing the lottery, yeah he might get it right, but the odds were against him. That's why he was not surprised to find himself wrapped in a hug.

Her voice was soft when she whispered in his ear, "What about your mom, huh? Is she against you too, she has an awesome quirk? Or how about all of those people you work with, most of them must have quirks and yet they seemed to support you quite a bit?"

She had a point, but he wasn't ready to concede, "My mom, is my mom. That's kind of a given that she'd love and support me. Still, she has done a lot more than any normal parent could have ever asked and worked hard just for my sake. The people she works with, I proved myself to them through my work. To be fair, I guess you have to prove yourself no matter where you work."

She pulled back far enough that he could see her trying to reply, but he beat her to it, "Yes, Miss Potts, I know I have you too. You are the one person besides my mom who I never had to prove myself to and didn't seem to judge me based on my abilities."

Mina was quite glad that the color of her skin made light blushes almost impossible to see, "Well then, could you lighten up a bit? If for no other reason than for me. I want to be friends with everyone, but I won't give you up to do it."

Then she used it, the look, "Fine, fine, I'll play nice. Just put it away."

Mina's victorious moment was interrupted by the monotone voice of our teacher, "If the two of you are finished, do you mind if I finish class."

Izuku knew the man was serious, but his permanent deadpan just made everything he said funny to him, "I guess we don't mind."

The slightest of smirks crossed the man's face as he turned to the rest of the class, "Now that the soap opera is over, we'll wrap things up. Oh, I guess I should tell you that no one is getting expelled, I lied."

Ida didn't handle that well obviously as his hand flew into the air, "Lied!? But you are our instructor. How could you insult this establishment in such a way and betray the trust of your students?"

Aizawa sighed at the latest freak out, "You are way too excitable, ya know that? It's called a logical deception. The idea was to get you to go all out, and also let me evaluate how you would perform under a high-stress situation."

This seemed to shut Ida up but Aizawa wasn't finished, "You kids don't seem to get it yet so let me be clear. I am here to train you to be heroes. We are not here to make friends. This will be hard, and I will do whatever it takes for me to be sure that when you leave you are the most capable heroes that I could make you. Midoriya's comment might have been rude and hurt your feelings, but he was dead on. No one gets by on quirk alone. I intentionally forced him to not use his gear so that you would see how you stacked up against a quirkless person when they put their mind to something."

The hurt looks on most of their faces returned, but their teacher had one final nail to drive in the coffin, "Stronger or weaker doesn't matter. You can stack your abilities against his in any way you please, but there is one thing that applies to almost all of you. When it comes to being a hero, you don't want it as bad as he does. Class dismissed."

As mister Aizawa walked away, looks were exchanged between the classmates. Uncertainty, disappointment, and confusion were capital among them. Mina was doing her best to smooth things over, but Izuku knew he had to say something.

"Look guys, I'll be honest with you. Being quirkless all my life has given me a natural dislike to people who take having a quirk for granted. It's not that I don't like any of you personally, except you Bakugo-"

"Damn you nerd!"

"-But I've always had to work harder to be even be considered equal. All my life I've wanted to be a hero, and to me, it seems like some of you are just here to play hero. I'm not saying that you don't have amazing quirks because you do. I should also apologize to you for my early actions. I am even willing to put my past behind me and try to be friends with you all, but know this. My goal to prove that even though I'm quirkless, I am still the best won't change. I will be this worlds greatest hero, that is my dream."

"Yeah, yeah, Tony," Mina walked in front of me again, waving away my speech flippantly, "Geez, why do you always have to be so serious? In case you guys didn't get that, he says he's sorry and wants to be friends."

Some of the class seemed very confused by Mina called Izuku, Tony, all except for Ida, "Your heroic passion is truly inspiring. For someone who was born quirkless to come so far is nothing short of incredible. I hope to learn much from you and enjoy a friendly school life as we start on our journey to be heroes."

Izuku would have probably said something more, but the way the guy's arms swung all over the place had him a little confused, "Eh, yeah, sure."

"Excellent," announced the hyperactive engine quirk user.

Things were finally calming down as Mina rest a hand on Izuku's shoulder reassuringly, giving him a gentle smile. All would have probably calmed down from there if Momo hadn't added her two cents.

"It is truly something to see such a young couple support each other so firmly. Such pure romance is wonderful."

 _"Oh no,"_ was the thought of both teens in question as they were suddenly bombarded questions from the rest of their class.

 **A/N: So, don't hate me but I actually finished this chapter several months ago. The thing is my unique mix of ADHD and OCD make me both obsessive and forgetful. I haven't and won't quit writing this story, just had to take a bit of a break from it as other inspiration flooded my mind.**

 **All that said, how did you guys like it? I know that some of the characters are a bit OOC, but it's bound to happen. I will introduce more characters as I go along, I just hate overwhelming my readers with a crap ton of new information all at once.**

 **Just in case you have a problem with the way Izuku and Mina's relationship is proceeding, allow me to explain. They aren't a couple, even if Mina will admit to having feelings for Izuku and he has uncertain feelings for her. Kids that age have crazy feelings that often develop overnight and change the next morning. Mina is simply rational enough to realize that it's probably just a momentary thing. I'm going to keep trying to make sure Izuku's character is what I want it to be, but if you guys have any funny ideas I'd love to hear them. As I've said before, I'm also open to unique ability ideas, just nothing too deadly, it doesn't fit the universe.**

 **Also, my crowd favorite character Inko is not going anywhere any time soon. Be prepared for her to return in the most badass way possible.**


	8. The Cost of Friendship

**Disclaimer: As always I don't own My Hero Academia.**

 **A/N: Didn't expect to have another chapter so quickly, did ya?**

 **Chapter 8- The Cost of Friendship**

After a long night of evasive question answering with his mother, Izuku had been ready for bed, but sleep hadn't come easily. No, it seems that his supposed 'fiance' had deigned it appropriate to share his email with all of the other students in class. She would have to suffer for that. Unfortunately, that still left him at the mercy of the group chat with his entire class.

The quirkless teen tried to not let himself get sucked into the nonsensical conversation with his classmates, but it didn't work. Making such a spectacle of himself by insulting them all, not to mention the teacher having called them out, Izuku would have thought they would only have negative things to say to him. He honestly hoped that they wouldn't care much for him, but instead, his relationship had become the hot gossip.

In her defense, Mina had tried to stop the rumors, insisting that they were not together. She even attempted to explain the poorly timed picture and how it had all been a joke. That had only ended up leading to questions about what they had been doing, and eventually talking about there 'date'.

Izuku was firmly adept at strategy and had studied battle. He knew a losing fight when he saw one. Did that stop him from engaging in it, no. Pushed to the point where he just couldn't take anymore, he had berated his classmates once more. He insinuated that if they had time for such idle banter then they should spend more time training to be heroes, a sentiment that only Iida seemed to share. That had been depressing, Iida being only one step bellow Bakugo on the list of people he didn't want in his corner.

The green-haired boy found no rebuttal available to him when Mina had stated there had to be time for other things, like their date. Great, now even she had started to call it a date. It had forced the boy to shake his head, done in by his only friend. His response of "traitor" had only been met with some kind of crying emoticon.

In truth, Izuku considered going on another rant about how he had free time because he was so far beyond the others but held back. He had stopped himself largely for Mina He didn't want to alienate his only friend who he knew would end up sticking by him for whatever reason. Also, it kinda sounded like a Bakugo thing to say. On that note, bless that sparky bastard. His only source of levity during that whole conversation was being put down by Bakugo, calling him weak and what not. It was then that Izuku brought up the guy being taken captive by the sludge villain, effectively shutting up the proud teen.

In the end, Izuku had simply resigned from the losing battle. There was simply no fighting gossip and he knew that the truth would come out eventually. In his heart, the teen truly felt that some of them had no place in the hero program. They were there for all the wrong reasons and it would only get them killed. It made him think about the conversation he'd had with Mister Aizawa after class that day.

 **-4 Hours Ago - Class 1-A Classroom-**

Waiting for the class to clear out and promising Mina he'd see her tomorrow, Izuku approached Mister Aizawa. The pro hero just sat patiently, eyeing his young student. It was somewhat obvious that both anticipated this encounter.

"How's the new capture scarf working out for ya? I spent hours getting the material just right," Izuku questioned blithely.

"Like a charm," came the casual yet somewhat bored response, "It's even more flexible than before and yet stronger still. I'm impressed. You really didn't have to make it appear so scarf-like though, just a plain cloth would've been fine."

The teen chuckled a bit at that, "I took some inspiration from Best Jeanist's quirk for that, looking more scarf-like was mom's idea. To be fair, all that it did was increase the tensile strength even further. You're lucky I didn't let her embroider it with your initials or roses."

The man's eyes widened slightly, momentarily startled at the idea, "Yeah, thanks for that. Would've made being taken seriously a lot harder. Now, are you going to keep beating around the bush?

"Why didn't you fail him," blatantly asked the quirkless teen.

Aizawa nodded, "As I said, it was a-"

"Please don't insult my intelligence," Izuku interrupted with a bit of irritation in his voice, "I know full well that you could've and had intended to drop someone today. My question is why you didn't."

"I see. Having someone as perceptive as you is going to make my job a lot harder," sighed the teacher, "Look, the only reason I keep you guys or drop you is potential. If you have it you stay, if not I send you packing."

The boy's eyebrow began to twitch a bit at that, "I don't know that grape boy very well but-"

"You're smart enough to remember his name, aren't you," retaliated Aizawa with a smirk.

Izuku had to bite his cheek and force the grin, "I don't know Mineta well, but that kid is not hero material."

The Eraser Hero merely evaluated the passion in his pupil for a moment before responding, "They can't see it, but it's easy for veterans like me to tell how scared you are for them. It's not about them having quirks and you not, it's about them not understanding what kind of dangerous life they are getting themselves into."

Izuku didn't reply with words, only a nod.

"Well, in that case, all I can ask is that you trust in my judgment. Believe me when I say that even that kid has true hero potential if his misplaced energy can be redirected. His quirk really could do some good. It's my job to teach them what they are getting themselves into, what you're all getting yourselves into," calmly explained the pro hero.

It was a few moments before Izuku replied as he thought over his words, "I get it, I do. His odd grape quirk could make him a very adept capture and detain type of hero. I already evaluated the strength of those things on his head. I'm not saying he doesn't have the quirk for it, I only question his personality and motivations. Whatever, I guess I'm wasting my time. If you want to let that kid become just another statistic then that's on you, but believe me when I say I won't hesitate to try and convince the kid to pack it up and go home."

Without another word the quirkless boy left, leaving a contemplative teacher behind. The boy never to know just how worried for him that his teacher was becoming.

 **-Next Day – Classroom-**

"Come on Izu, you can't be mad at me," pleaded the acid user.

His look was dry and irritated from lack of sleep, "You gave my email to the entire class. You do recall that I don't exactly like people, right?"

The golden-eyed acid user wrapped the boy in a hug from behind as he sat, trapping the back of his head against her chest. The genius inventor found himself in a sort of heaven and hell scenario. It was antics like these that were only adding fuel to the fire that the pair were just that, a pair. That said, he was _very_ comfortable.

"It's not like you mean any of that you big jerk," she teased, "I've started to figure you out already. After all, we're friends aren't we."

Izuku could only sigh as he rubbed his temples, careful not to touch the soft objects cushioning his head, "You are the exception, not the rule. Without their quirks, some of these kids would be stuck in remedial classes repeating math for the next three years."

While Mina just pouted about how hard math could be another classmate made herself known, "Yo."

Unable to really move his head, Izuku peered to his side with his peripherals since he couldn't wear his shades in class. He could recall the girl quite easily, Tsuyu Asui. Her hair that was an ever darker green than his own and eyes weren't that unique, but her slightly longer than average legs, and powerful hands and feet marked her frog-like trait. As much as he wanted to dismiss the new girl, his interest in quirks seemed to take over.

The ever exuberant Mina decided to release him then and swing around by the new girl, "This is Asui Tsuyu, she's our new friend!"

"Our," Izuku questioned before turning his attention to Tsuyu, "So, is your quirk Frog or Toad related? It's hard to tell from what I've seen so far."

The girl's bland expression brightened up a bit at that, obviously she likes talking about her quirk, "Frogs."

A puzzled look on Mina's face formed at the question, "Uh, what's the difference?"

Entering what his mother would call 'Sensei Mode' Izuku broke out into an explanation, "It's actually quite subtle but there. I was leaning towards frog since many species of toads have shorter legs and lack the hopping strength Asui displayed during the quirk test. Other than that frogs often secrete a sort of slime along there skin making them somewhat lubricated to the touch while toads are dry feeling. I'm sure you also know that many toads have warts as well."

Looking to Asui for confirmation and receiving a nod, Mina just made an 'Oh' expression. This caused a slight chuckle from the other two which the pink girl quickly joined in on.

"You sure know a lot about frogs and toads," commented the dark-haired Asui.

Izuku simply nodded at her, "You would be surprised at the variety of quirks that I've come up against. My mom works with NextGen, the number one support company in the world. I've done lots of research and work with them, unofficially of course, and have needed to familiarize myself with tons of different things. I have specially made restraints that you could use to increase the strength of your legs over time if you're interested. I wear a full body version at all times, see."

At his word, Izuku stood and lifted his shirt to how his abdomen. The device he'd mention was clear to see as straps and springs all attached to a small circular device that rested above his navel. That wasn't really what was catching the attention of the few students who had noticed him lifting his shirt.

"Wow," was all Mina managed to say.

Izuku just gave a cocky grin and patted the device, "Yeah, I'm pretty proud of it. I'd say it's leagues ahead of the popular market versions. It is able to sense not only muscle strength but read levels of exhaustion for the release of lactic acid that-"

"Izuku," Tsuyu interjected.

Broken from his rant he turned towards the obviously amused girl, and the now four more students gathered behind her, including his self proclaimed rival. He didn't get it. It was just a resistance trainer. Sure, it was pretty advanced, but nothing worthy of this kind of attention.

"What's up," he replied curiously to the frog-girl.

She smirked at him, "Your tech isn't the hardware they're checking out right now."

"Huh, what do you..." Izuku drifted off as he realized they were staring at his abs, a whole new cocky grin covering his face.

Ignoring the others, Izuku focused on Mina as he tucked his shirt back in, "See something you like there Pepper?"

Unperturbed, the acid-user merely shook her head, "Jeez Stark, at least I know where I can wash my clothes if the machine ever breaks down."

It seemed that, like with his mother, Mina had quickly adapted to the flirtatious style of banter they'd started. The pair chuckled a bit while the rest of the gathered students snapped out of there stupor. All attention got drawn to the one male in the group who quickly whipped up his own shirt showing a firm, flat stomach, but without Izuku's definition.

"You want hard abs, check these babies out," the boy's body instantly changing as he applied his quirk.

Izuku merely tilted his head a bit, "A hardening quirk? Well, I guess sometimes you just have to work with what you got. Don't worry bud."

"No contest," Tsuyu commented blandly.

The red-haired boy merely sulked at his loss before Mina came up and threw an arm around him, "Don't worry horn buddy. I mean he's uhh...his personality is kinda lousy, at least on the outside, but he's like a really great guy beneath that."

Slightly amused, Izuku leaned in towards Tsuyu, "Wasn't she meant to be cheering him up? How did this become about me?"

The green-haired girl laughed softly, "She kind of fell of the wagon with it."

"I can't let this stand as a man. I'm Eijiro Kirashima, you can just call me Kirashima, and quirk or no quirk I won't be beaten by you. What makes you so much better than me anyway huh?"

Raising his hand, Izuku began to count off by his fingers, "Millionaire, Philanthropist, and apparently, I'm dating your friend."

 **(A/N: Izuku isn't quite at Billionaire status yet.)**

To further irritate things, the Mina and Momo both nodded at these facts as they'd already been made aware of them. As much as the quirkless boy didn't want to further any rumors about himself and Mina, he couldn't help himself at that moment. Izuku just decided it was like when Mina had claimed him as 'her man' to the woman at the check-in station at the Gala. This wasn't about it being a fact, but making a statement, and boy did he like to make a statement.

Kirishima just growled about before activating his quirk and standing tall once more, "There's no way you're that big a deal, besides Mina's got weird tastes anyways. I could probably have twice the women you could if I wanted."

Izuku couldn't really argue about Mina's tastes, he had no idea what he'd done to endear the girl to him so fervently. Still, that didn't mean he liked anyone saying that about her, even one of her friends. That feeling made him question himself a bit, wondering why he eve cared. Before he could retort, however, Momo had cleared her throat and was holding out an open magazine to the group.

The magazine was dated for yesterday and opened to a page with a picture of Izuku from the Gala with a number one beside it. Everyone began looking it over but Momo, who'd basically memorized it already, recited the information from memory.

"Teen Magazine's number one guy teen girl's want to date, Izuku Midoriya."

The article went on to mention his many contributions to support tech for heroes, even going as far as having a few pro heroes compliment the gear. It talked about his charitable donations and community projects that he, alongside his mother, have founded. They had somehow even gotten information on his blowout performance during the entrance exams, calling him the 'Quirkless Superman'.

A somewhat depressing thought stuck him after Izuku read over his new moniker, "Somehow I prefer Iron Man."

A blink of the eye later Izuku found himself smothered by a pink blur, "Ah Izu~, you do care."

The girls all giggled while the shown up and forgotten Kirishima just sulked in his seat. Luckily the assaulted teen didn't have to fight hard for his freedom when an overly enthusiastic All Might appeared with a new challenge for the would-be heroes.

 **A/N: So yeah, I got a bit carried away with side bits here, but I was able to introduce more of class 1-A. Prepare for more quirky antics to ensue in the next chapter. Also, what did Izuku mean by he would do something about Mineta? Truth be told, I've never thought much of the Grape Hero…**

 **It's a bit off topic, but I was wondering something as I was working on a new My Hero story. Just something for a rainy day. Anywho, how did Tooru score higher than Izuku on the Quirk Apprehension test? Seriously? Did Izuku just do lousy after hurting himself? I can even believe that Mineta beat him, not to mention mister sparkles. All that training he did didn't really seem to pay off much if you ask me.**

 **I'll post the next chapter next weekend, or at least I should. It's already typed after all, just have to through in my author note and do a Grammarly Check. So, until next time. You stay classy San Diego.**


	9. Hero or Villain

**Disclaimer: As per usual I do not own My Hero Academia.**

 **A/N: This is part of a one-time two-part update that I'm doing. I don't feel like combining the chapters to make one crazy long chapter so this is what you get. Some of you have been curious about Izuku's personality, and while I may enjoy writing some funny scenes, remember that Izuku takes hero work very seriously. All I ask is that you read the next two chapters before passing judgment on his character.**

 **Chapter 9- Hero or Villain**

As it turned out the hero course had quite a few twists and turns in store for class 1-A that none of them saw coming. This next challenge had been presented by the number one hero All Might. For the first time the students were getting to wear the hero suits which they had designed themselves and had been created by NextGen themselves. Izuku was actually doing his best to hold back in explaining some of the parts he had worked on.

Of course, when Mina had seen the label on the box her suit came in that hadn't lasted long. Unfortunately, she chose to grill him only after getting dressed in her suit.

"Izuku, look at me," Mina shouted as she bounded into the room.

The proud inventor found for the first time he was struggling to appreciate his own work. He didn't really need to look, after all, he knew every costume he'd worked on like the back of his hand. The leotard she wore was certainly the maid piece with its purple and turquoise camo color scheme. The trick to it was the material used. It had to be acid proof, and from the display Mina had shown in the exam Izuku knew it should be flexible, but he had to make sure that didn't compromise its durability. It hadn't been a challenge really, he'd invented the perfect material for it, Sympathreads. The rest of the girl's costume was a simple hodgepodge really, acid resistant boots, a beige sleeveless jacket with a fur collar, and a white mask to top it all off.

It was the fact that he hadn't considered how his shapely friend would appear in her skin-tight costume that was the issue.

Sighing, Izuku swallowed his embarrassment and turned on the mask he wore for situations where he was uncomfortable, "Very nice Mina, I'd say some hard work went into that."

Laughter hadn't been what he expected to hear next, "You did it again."

"Did what again," he asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Mina mimicked putting on a mask, "You did the same thing just before we got out of the limo."

"Holy cow you rode in a limo Mina," came the voice of an invisible girl who Izuku found it funny to realize he hadn't noticed, he honestly couldn't even remember an order for a costume for an invisibility quirk.

None of that mattered to the young inventor at the moment. Once this invisible girl, Tooru he believed her name was, broke in about the limo he knew he was safe. Girl talk was a sacred ritual that Izuku was glad to have no part in.

"Hey, Izuku!"

 _'Damn it.'_

"Yes Mina," he replied.

As the girl lifted up her suitcase and displayed the NextGen logo, which was simply the company name, she asked him, "Does this mean it was your mom's company that made these?"

"No."

"Really?"

Izuku face-palmed, "Of course that what it means Mina. What's your point?"

The pink girl fake sniffled a bit before replying, "No need to be mean. But seriously, did you anything to do with this?"

 _'Busted.'_

"Eh heh heh," nervously laughed the teen as he scratched that back of his head, "What would make you think that?"

The acid user hmm'd for a moment while tapping her chin, "It just seems like something you would do I guess. I mean, you like to know everything you can about everything, and I'm sure knowing what kind of gear we had and the info you'd get about our quirks doing it would be up your alley."

Izuku gaped a bit at the girl while the others coming back into the room who had heard were all equally shocked, "Wow Mina, that was actually a very intelligent deduction."

"Thanks," she grinned brilliantly before the thinly veiled insult hit her, "Heyyyyy!"

Everyone started laughing until Izuku tapped his ear and sunglasses appeared out of nowhere on his face, "Yeah, I had a hand in making all the suits. We tag our work but we make it hard to notice unless you know what you're looking for. My computer should be able to find it pretty quick though. Let's see..."

Slowly sweeping over her form, a small blush swept across Izuku's face before he turned away, "Huh, I uh, I guess I forgot to tag yours."

Unprepared for the quick action, Izuku couldn't stop the frog-girl from swiping his shades.

"Wait Tsuyu, don't!"

It was too late however as she had already put them on and was looking at Mina, "Well I can certainly see why you didn't want me to-"

Tsuyu's body began to spasm a bit before Izuku managed to snatch the glasses off of the girl's face, "I didn't want you to wear them because of defensive measures. They are keenly set to my genetic code and nanotech inside my body. Anyone else wearing them will receive debilitating shocks until they are removed. Just give it a second to wear off."

"Rbbt, my bad. Still, even for a boyfriend, I think that is a bit possessive," even injured Tsuyu managed to snark.

Blushing once more Izuku looked away, "I'm not her boyfriend, and I didn't mean to! I marked the material before it was even sewn together. I had no way of knowing it would end up there!"

Mina leaned in towards the frog-girl, "Where did he put it?"

A few whispers later and all of the skin on the pink girl's face had become fuschia with both of her hands covering her backside, "Tony Stark! That's bold even for you!"

That teasing carried on until All Might returned with the last of the students and they had made their way to the Training Grounds Beta.

 **-Training Ground B-**

The class was to be split into groups of two-man teams, half the class was heroes, and the other was to be villains. It was an interesting concept, but what made it crazier was that until your match you had no idea what the others pulled or who your teams were.

When the first match had been called and Izuku hadn't been part of it he'd been disappointed, it was even worse when he'd noticed Mina had been. He was slightly relieved when he hadn't be placed against her. Mina had been placed on the Hero team alongside Aoyama, who was another hopeless case in Izuku's book. The boy seemed more concerned with being flashy than anything. It didn't help the boy that his suit had been one of the few costumes Izuku hadn't touched and therefore wasn't resistant to Mina's acid which she was using quite liberally as she blitzed the building. The boy looked about to whimper when his glittery cape had a few holes melted in it.

In all fairness, it had been an unfair match. The villains were an overly sensitive big guy who didn't really talk and Ochako, who possessed an impressive gravity quirk. The larger man was quickly daunted by the flamboyant personalities of his two opponents, the poor guy really wasn't made to be a villain. It seemed he could speak to animals, but the quirk didn't help him here, nor did the friendly giant seem to want to risk his animal friends getting hurt by Mina's acid. Far too soft for hero work.

Ochako did her best to put up an admirable fight. She'd even managed to use her ability on Aoyama and leave the poor guy just floating in mid-air. Sadly her acid spewing opponent was just too quick, too agile, and her quirk left the gravity user keeping her distance. The hero team had won within a matter of minutes.

Round two came and Izuku grinned, it was his turn.

As Izuku waited for the match to start, a dark thought entered his mind when his opponents were announced. He was a villain, that had suited him just fine actually, but what struck him as an opportunity was that one of his opponents was the boy Izuku firmly believed above all others didn't belong here, Minoru Mineta. Mina would get mad at him for this, but that boy needed to be shown the world he was getting involved in. If their homeroom teacher refused to do it then he'd take it upon himself.

"All right," All Might's voice came over their earpieces, "Match Start."

Izuku looked over at his partner. He'd read up on her quirk a bit when he'd been handed her costume outline, Earphone Jack. The cords that grew from her ears could be plugged into just about anything and transmit sound either to or from the girl. A unique quirk to be certain.

"Hey, I know we don't know each other very well but I'm Izuku," came the quick introduction.

He received a nod back, "Yeah, I'm Kyoka Jiro. You got any ideas?"

Izuku nodded, "Look I designed those boots your wearing and have a pretty good understanding of your quirk. There is only a small hall that leads to this room. You should be able to guard that entrance pretty well with one boot while keeping the other ear jack to the floor to track movement."

Jiro seemed a bit shocked, "Wow, you really do know my quirk. So what are you going to be doing?"

"Well, we're up against an invisibility quirk and the grape kid. I'm going to attempt to knock grape boy out but if Tooru gets by me then you're our last line of defense. Sound good," pitched the quirkless teen.

Jiro only nodded, a feeling of useless passing over the girl. To her, it didn't seem like they were both villains at all. It was as if he was the great mastermind and she was the grunt that got ordered around. Still, she couldn't argue with him, the plan was solid.

Izuku grinned at her, that famous crowd-pleasing smile, "Then let's get this party started. Niko, systems on."

Having not seen the suit before, Jiro was a bit blown away as the metallic armor encased her classmate. An almost frightening thought traveling through her mind as he jets off, _'Just who is this guy?'_

Izuku's thermal sensors had picked up both of his classmates right off the bat. They'd separated, well, that worked for him just fine. Tooru would never be able to be quiet enough to get by Jiro allowing Izuku to do what...needed to be done.

"Ahhh," shouted the frightened boy when he spotted Izuku in his armor, a shot from the repulsor cannon had Mineta running in terror.

With a map of the floor uploaded into his visual and a few well-placed shots it was a simple task to herd the small boy into a corner. Mineta became a quivering mess as Izuku hovered closer. The cowering teen began hurling his purple orbs at what he saw as his impending doom. A small smile covered Mineta's face for only a moment as he'd swamped the armor with his grapes from head to toe. That moment ended a single word later.

"Expel."

A strange discharge vented from the armor followed by all of the orbs falling to the ground.

"It's no use. I've already analyzed your quirk. As sticky as those orbs are there is a multitude of things they won't stick too, such as if they are coated in the coolant that my suit generates to keep my internal temperature regulated. This is the fate of those who entered this world unprepared, to face an overwhelming opponent who has no issue with ending your life, to become nothing more than a segment on the news," Izuku extended his palm towards the boy which began to slowly glow with energy, "You don't belong here."

His eyes went wide as Mineta trembled at the words. Tears began to pour from the young teen's eyes as he bit his lower lip in defiance. In an impressive act of desperation, the grape quirk user bounced off two of his own orbs he'd placed behind him, hurling himself towards his opponent. A merciless blast from Izuku's repulsor cannon slamming him up back against the wall.

Izuku walked forward now, his heavy metal leg armor thunking against the floor. Mineta broke free from his daze enough so that he could see clearly the imposing figure looming over him. Instead of a hand, the terrified young teen could see his opponent pointing at him in a finger-gun manner.

"Do you know what an evacuation laser is Mineta? They use these to get trapped victims out from under collapsed buildings and things like that. The laser is so hot that it can cut through solid steel in seconds. How long do you think it would take to drill through bone," Izuku whispered darkly.

Having heard everything All Might's voice came in through Izuku's earpiece, "I'll remind you that this is only a war game. You are only pretending to be a villain. Purposefully harming a classmate well get you expelled from the hero program."

Mineta could only watch as the armored figure before him shrugged, "I think I've done what I set out to do. I've proved pretty solidly that I'm better than all of you quirk users. Just think, I might be saving your life right now if I can get you dropped from the program due to injury, so what do you say, will you quit and save me the hassle?"

Now crying and sweating buckets, Mineta could only shake his head. The little guy refusing to quit now, even in the face of bodily harm.

"So be it," replied Izuku without emotion.

"Young Midoryia stop this," shouted All Might along with all the other students watching.

Mineta cried out in fear, "No!"

Izuku chuckled, "Bang."

"I won't let you," shouted a new voice as the terrified pervert was blocked by what appeared to be nothing at all and a flag shot out of the armor's finger with the word 'BANG' written across it.

Tooru, who had come to the rescue, stood between the two and inspected the small flag, "Bang, oh it was all a joke. That's-"

The girl didn't get a chance to finish what she was saying as two capture nets shot out and pinned the invisible girl and the grape boy. That wasn't all that happened though as the students of 1-A who were flabbergasted at the recent turn of events watch Izuku rocket backward and into the nearest wall. No one was able to make any sense out of what had happened until Izuku shouted.

"Why the hell are you naked!"

"Oh," calmly stated the captured girl, "It's kind of defeats the purpose of being invisible if you can see disembodied clothes floating around."

"Well," shouted the panicked Izuku, "Put some damn clothes on!"

Tooru giggled, "What's your problem, it's not like you can… You can see me?!"

An armored head nodded eliciting a shriek from the invisible girl. All the while laughter filled the observation room where class 1-A was watching the scene. In the end, All Might broke from his stupor and made the call.

"Villains win!"

For a moment everyone began to cheer, and then hesitated, wondering if they should be cheering for villains, classmates or not. All were quiet when the four made there way back to the group. Jiro went to join her friends while Tooru insisted that Izuku keep his eyes closed, even with his armor and shades off. After being told he could open his eyes Izuku noticed All Might headed in his direction, some sort of speech prepared. Izuku walked straight past the man as he lifted his hand in lecture, heading straight towards his goal.

"Mineta, hold up," called out the quirkless teen.

The short boy called turned around and gave Izuku and nervous wave, "H-Hey man, n-n-need something?"

Izuku merely smiled at him, Mina noticing immediately it was his happiest place on Earth smile, "You really impressed me in there little guy. I've been really worried that if you passed and made it to be a pro-hero that you'd get killed or abandon someone out there. You really showed me. If there's anything you ever need, anything not perverted, then you can come to me and I'll be there for you."

The fear melted away from Mineta's face and a huge smile broke through, "Ye-Yeah! That sounds great."

Both boys chuckled for a bit before a pink blur shot out for the second time today and tackled Izuku to the ground. Before he could even respond he felt something soft pressing against his face. The quirkless boy's eyes shot wide as he was once more hugged to the pink-haired girl's chest.

"Mina, did you just-"

"I just knew it," Mina shouted in adulation, "Everyone was worried when you went over to the dark side there for a bit, but I never doubted you. I knew you weren't going to hurt him, I just knew it."

"She's right you know," All Might interrupted, "Even I was unaware as to your intentions. You have a fine friend in Miss Ashido, my boy. I am very impressed with both of you."

Mina just hugged Izuku into her chest tighter, "I know, he's the best boyfriend ever."

A few grunts could be heard from the guys, an obvious 'Damn nerd', and with scattered giggles from the girls. Mina herself just laughed, enjoying tormenting her friend so.

Izuku's head merely rolled back as he fought off tears of frustration, _'This is my life now.'_


	10. Knowing One's Self

**Disclaimer: As per usual I do not own My Hero Academia.**

 **A/N: PLEASE READ: THIS IS THE SECOND OF TWO UPDATES. PLEASE BE SURE THAT YOU'VE READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER AS I'M POSTING TWO TODAY.**

 **Chapter 10: Knowing One's Self**

"Good afternoon mister Midoryia, please take a seat," politely offered Nezu.

This was the first time Izuku had seen the principle's office. To be fair, it was far nicer than the ones he'd seen when he was in elementary and middle school. The large cherry desk seemed to dwarf the brilliant yet diminutive manimal.

The careful look with which the two held each other never left as he took his seat. Izuku wasn't naive, he understood why he was here. His behavior during the mock battles was called into question, that was fine. Or, at least, it would've been fine with anyone else. Honestly, as brilliant as he was, Izuku had no idea where he stood against the principal in terms of intelligence.

"Do you know why I called you here today rather than let one of your teachers handle this situation mister Midoriya," questioned the principal.

Izuku replied instantly, "At least partially, yes."

"Good, you at least can admit to not having a full understanding. You'd be surprised when the truest wisdom is simply knowing that you do not know something," snickered the principal, "To put simply, you're here and not with them because I'm smarter than you."

Izuku's eyes widened momentarily before he relaxed once more, "I would say you're being arrogant and presumptuous, but you aren't are you?"

"Nope," Nezu chuckled once more, "Just stating the facts as they are. It's true that with all of the technology you possess you may be able to think just as quickly as I, an impressive feat, but a human mind is still far too limited. As such, your technology is limited since you are the one who programmed it."

The quirkless teen couldn't argue such a logical conclusion. He could state that since his tech could process data far quicker than either of them he'd have an edge, but that would simply lead back to the answers it reached. He could even make the point that his tech was self-learning and would eventually make up the difference created by his programming limitations, but that left room for error with the thoughts being quantified by an inorganic mind.

Nezu took the boy's silence as agreement and nodded, "It seems you understand. As much as I would enjoy having a nice conversation with you about such things as the wasted inherit potential of mankind, it would likely serve us both to get to the matter at hand."

Izuku couldn't help but agree, "True, it would be nice to talk with someone smarter than me and learn new avenues of thought that I hadn't approached, but perhaps another time. I can only assume you wish to discuss my behavior during the simulation today."

Grabbing a remote, Nezu clicked a button and various screens appeared before Izuku. Each screen denoted a certain image during his match. Pressing another button, the images replayed bits and pieces of the match, centering around his confrontation with Mineta. Hearing his own voice question the child's will to be a hero, threatening his very life, brought a surprisingly gentle grin to Izuku's face.

"A smile, not something most would expect when listening to something like that," the principal commented.

Izuku waved a hand through the images, dismissing them, so he could clearly see Nezu once more, "I imagine you made me watch that to test my resolve. To see if hearing those words, instead of just saying them, would make me second guess myself. If that's the case then you couldn't have been more wrong. I smile because when pressed, when he couldn't be sure if he'd live through it or not, even though this wasn't real hero work and he's not even a real hero yet, Mineta Minoru was able to rise above the fear and embrace what it truly means to be a hero. I'd say that he most likely learned something about himself today."

"While slightly fanatical, I can understand where you are coming from. Now let me get to why you are actually here," this shocked the teen to learn, he'd thought that had been the reason he was here, "Why do you want to be a hero?"

The reply came as if it was a textbook answer, "To prove to the world that quirks aren't everything. I can be a hero, the best hero, even though I was born quirkless."

"Yes, that's what I thought. Now, let me ask you this. If that's the case, then why did you go to such drastic lengths to test this boy's character? Why did you need to find out whether or not he had what it takes," and the teen found himself faced with an interrogation.

Taking a moment to collect his thoughts after the turn of events, Izuku sighed, "It's the same thing I told mister Aizawa. Too many people think being a hero is just a fad or a cool job. They want to be looked at as a hero, not actually be one. Ever since I'd met the boy everything he'd said and done had screamed that he didn't belong here. I will admit that I'm still not entirely convinced to be honest, but if he somehow passes the hero course and goes out there I worried he might get himself or worse, someone he was supposed to protect, killed."

"Oh, so his death would be less important that someone he was rescuing?"

"Yes. That's part of being a hero," Izuku answered the sudden question with no hesitation.

"My, my, weren't you made with tougher stuff," it wasn't a question, "I think you don't realize the extent to which you care for others. That's likely why miss Ashido, who you seem to have taken well to, has been able to befriend you. That girl simply doesn't know how to hold herself back and gives her whole heart to people. To people like you and I, she is an anomaly, something we can't figure out, and that makes her all the more intriguing."

What Nezu said made sense. It explained perfectly his fixation with Mina as well as her ability to stand by him. He still didn't understand what made her tick at all after having to got to know her a bit better.

The principal seemed to smile, "It seems you understand. I can see that you aren't exactly anti quirk, and understand your need to prove your own worth. I also had to fight for everything I have, even at times when it made me look like the bad guy. Just remember two things, if nothing else, we have spoken of today. First, is that you aren't alone here. If you reach out and make friends it won't make you any less the amazing hero that I know you will become."

Izuku couldn't help but notice the expression on the tiny creature's face become far more imposing, "Calling into question the judgment of the staff is the same as calling into judgment the person who put them there. I am that person. You are not an educator here, I would request that you refrain from acting like one in the future. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," Izuku nodded swiftly while in the back of his mind thinking, _'You still hired Midnight.'_

The atmosphere in the room returned to a peaceful one suddenly and Nezu smiled once more, "Then you're free to go."

It took Izuku a moment to register the dismissal, still in shock from the principal's sudden change in demeanor. With a deep breath, he got up and started heading out of the room. He'd already opened the door before Nezu called out to him.

"One more thing, what if you were to suddenly discover after all this time that you actually had a quirk? Or what if someone were to somehow offer you one?"

Not that Izuku hadn't ever considered having a quirk after receiving the news that he didn't. As if by chance they simply couldn't detect it, or figure it out. Still, he had dismissed such fanciful thoughts long ago.

"I simply wouldn't use them, nor would I accept them. Quirks are great, and they help us do a lot of amazing things, but they aren't everything. People need to remember that and I'm here to show them," he answered the principal fervently.

"Even if using that quirk could help you save far more lives than you could without it," questioned Nezu, calling into question his dream versus his duty, "Just something to think about."

Izuku nodded his head, the suggestion clearly having an effect on the brilliant young mind as he walked away. The principal, having made sure the boy was gone pulled out a cell phone and place a call.

"Yes, it's me. I've done all I can to help you. The thought is in his mind and he is at least considering the possibility now. By the time you approach him he will certainly have come up with an answer," Nezu waited for a moment, a reply coming from the recipient of the call, "Very well, good luck my friend."

With that done, Nezu could only stop and wait. He couldn't help but think this young boy would make life far more interesting around here.

 **-That Night - Midoriya's Apartment-**

"Oh Izuku, you beat me home," Inko Midoriya stated as she walked through the door.

Izuku chuckled as he cooked dinner, "Only if you don't consider the fact that you were in the building the whole time. Then yes, I beat you home."

"Pish posh, sweetie, outside those doors is work. The two are entirely different," explained the mother before sniffing a bit before walking into the kitchen, "Oh, you're burning dinner for me, what's the special occasion?"

Both laughed at that while Izuku just calmly walked over and checked the rice. The first time he'd tried to cook dinner for her as a surprise he was still in elementary school. It had been an unmitigated disaster. Half the facility had been evacuated due to the fire alarms going off before they'd figure out it was just severely burnt chicken. The teasing had been relentless, calling it a sacrifice to the gods.

"Haha, I'm never gonna live that down, am I," he asked mildly.

"Let's see, that happened five years ago so~, add twelve, carry the two," her son could only roll his eyes as she did imaginary math, "I'd say it'll be over by about the fifth of never."

"Oh great, sounds like I'll be putting you in the nursing home a bit earlier than intended," a harsh laugh could be heard from his mother's room where she'd gone to change out of her work clothes, "Or maybe I'll just move into my own place with Mina, since we're the hot new thing after all."

Quiet reigned in the house for a few minutes before his mother came back into the kitchen, "That's not even funny."

Maybe to her it hadn't been, but his mother's reaction sent Izuku into a fit of giggles. The laughter died immediately when he went to grab a pan lid, only for a kitchen knife to impale itself in a counter by his hand. With wide eyes, he stared back at his mother.

"Not. Funny," she stated seriously before smirking slightly.

If it wasn't for the almost unrealistic control that his mother now possessed over her quirk such a thing would have scared the life out of him. Sure, he was shocked, but this was just another example of the two of them taking a joke too far. Still, he had stopped by a grocery on the way home and had one more hand to play in this game.

"Yeah, if you don't like the thought of me together with other girls then you _really_ don't want to look at the main article in the magazine on the dinner table," the glint in her son's eye as he spoke filled Inko with fear.

The look her son was giving her promised him victory, he'd never been wrong when he had that look. The telekinetic mother found herself approaching the face down magazine like it was booby-trapped. She knew now why her son was cooking dinner. Whatever was in this article was likely to send her into a melodramatic spiral, something she'd had more of a habit of doing in recent years.

She flipped it quickly and recoiled slightly, only to look on in surprise. The next few moments sent the woman on an emotional rollercoaster the likes of which she had never experienced before. At first glance, she looked on in pride at the image of her son on the cover, he looked sharp as it was an image of him in the suit he'd worn to the gala. Her first hint that things were going to go bad was the title 'TEEN' on the top of the magazine, followed by the caption by his picture.

"Teen Magazine's number one guy girl's want to date, Izuku Midoriya," the woman's lip quivered, "M-M-My b-baby is a chick magnet?"

Izuku, who had been taste-testing the curry at the time, abruptly spat. He watched as his mother flipped through the pages to find the article about him. The teen watched his mother's face light up at certain parts, he figured those were the parts bragging about his achievements. He had no doubts in his mind when she reached the part about him and Mina, and the theories about his whirlwind romance, as her face quickly paled and she began to wobble a bit.

"Whoa there mom, let's take a seat, shall we," he offered while fighting off laughter.

Inko could only mutter to herself quietly, "M-My baby's off the market? My baby isn't even old enough yet to be on the market, much less be taken off of it. This has all got to be a nightmare."

"Calm down mom, it's all gossip from a trashy magazine. You like Mina, remember," Izuku reminded his distraught mother.

"Yeah," she reluctantly admitted, "I guess it was foolish to think the world wouldn't realize how amazing you are just because you don't have a quirk. If you think about it, it's like your dream is coming true. The world is starting to recognize you."

His mother's comment had gotten the boy thinking about the conversation he'd had with his principal that day. It wasn't like he'd gotten in trouble, though he probably should have. It was midst his pondering that his mother reached over his shoulder and turned off the stove.

"What's wrong sweetie, you seemed kind of out of it there," Inko's hand made its way to his forehead, "Not feeling sick are you?"

Izuku merely shook his head, "We had a test today. The students in my class were split into teams of two, half of us were villain teams and the other half heroes. I was on a villain team."

The single mother didn't see her son so lost in thought unless he was working on a major project. It was easy for her to tell that whatever he was thinking about was weighing heavily on his mind.

"That sounds interesting, what happened," she encouraged.

"It was an odd experience, but I figured I'd have fun with it. Then I found out that one of the two heroes my team was against was a boy who I'm not sure really belongs there. I mean, nothing that comes out of the kid's mouth is anything but perverted. I just worry what might happen to him or someone he's supposed to be protecting should he graduate," explained Izuku passionately.

None of that surprised Inko, her son was always forward thinking. She had no doubt that he'd evaluated every one of his classmates potential as heroes. There were sure to be those that he'd thought wouldn't cut the mustard. Just hearing that horrid Katsuki boy was in his class had been more than she could stand.

Her son took a shuddering breath before he continued, "I needed to know. I didn't want him to waste his life and maybe die as a consequence of inadequate evaluation. I tried to speak to mister Aizawa about it but he wasn't going to do anything."

A strong clap in front of the teen's face snapped him out of his rambling, "Better?"

Izuku favored his mother with a small smile, "Much, yeah. Where was I...oh yeah. So I pushed him during the test. His power isn't really suited to confrontation like that and I was able to easily corner him. I offered him a choice, no, I threatened him. Either he could give up his hero career which he wasn't well suited for, or I'd hurt him bad enough so that he couldn't continue it, if not worse."

The boy's face hung low, he was afraid to face his mother and see the look on her face, "He surprised me in the end though. He lunged at me, did his best to fight back. He refused to give up in the face of overwhelming adversity, even with everything that was on the line. I mean, he could've lied to me, just to save himself, but he didn't. Sure, in the end the whole thing was a prank and I did the finger gun gag, with the flag and everything, and then the naked girl jumped out. I even apologized to him later, but still...did I got too far?"

Two warm hands cupped his cheeks and brought him face to face with the affectionate gaze of his mother, "Izuku, ever since we found out you didn't have a quirk we have both pushed ourselves to excel. You are a brilliant boy and I have never run out of things to brag on you about. I trust you emphatically and know that you will always do what you feel is best. I'm sure even if you turned to villainy I would likely still support you because you were only doing what you feel you must. There is only one thing that I haven't told you."

Sniffling a bit, Izuku questioned his mother, "What's that?"

"You aren't perfect," she smiled at him as she spoke, "No matter how perfect I think you are, you won't be right all the time. You are going to make mistakes, and that's okay. Did you learn from this," he nodded, "Will you be able to handle it better now," he nodded again, "Then I think it'll be just fine."

"Thanks, mom, you're the best," Izuku praised as he wrapped the woman in a hug.

The mother preened a bit under the praise, "I'd have to be to have such an amazing son. High school is tough sweetheart. Things like pervy boys, bad choices, and naked girls tend to… WHAT DO YOU MEAN NAKED!?"

"Ah ha ha," Izuku laughed nervously, "Did I say naked? I meant she was invisible."

"Izuku," the woman's bangs shadowed her eyes as she rose slowly from the table.

"Was this girl naked," Inko asked calmly.

"Y-Yeah, I mean, her quirk is invisibility so she can't wear clothes when she's doing hero work or she'll be spotted," the nervous son explained as best he could.

Inko nodded understandingly as an eerie smile crossed her face, "So if I review the visual logs with this watch you gave me, I'm not going to see anything because the girl was invisible, right?"

"Uh heh, funny you should mention that," he gulped hard as he slowly backed away, "Ya know with all of my infrared and stuff I could pull up a perfect image of what she looks like. I, uh, told her that if she came in we might be able to find a material that could become invisible with her."

"Izuku," the teen in question shivered having never heard his mother say his name that way, "Only naughty boys peek on naked girls. Did I raise such a child?"

The quirkless teen's head shook furiously, "No, but I didn't know she was naked until she jumped in front of me! I swear! I thought someone else had just gotten her outfit like the stomach laser guy. Until she jumped in front of me I had no clue that she wasn't wearing anything. I hadn't put on my armor until the test started."

Out of the corner of his vision, Izuku noticed a large meat tenderizing mallet float towards his mother, "Don't worry sweetie. I'm going to make you forget all about it. Then we'll just have a talk with your teachers and make sure this never happens again."

Even in a soundproofed apartment, some terrifying sounds found there way out. Many of the other employees who lived in the building reported hearing sounds that night that would haunt them for the rest of their days. It would be forever known as the night of the agonizing screams.

 **A/N: I hope this answered a lot of your questions about Izuku. This Izuku realizes that heroes die, that this isn't fun and games. He sees these kids who have these quirks acting like being a hero is a game and feels like he has to do something. Still, he can recognize his mistakes and is learning that he doesn't always know what's best. Serious Izuku will pop from time to time, but overall I prefer writing his sarcastic fun-loving side.**

 **I'm actually really excited because the USJ chapter will be coming soon and with it an unexpected twist.**


	11. President Midoriya?

**A/N: Ya know, you'd think I'd update my most popular story more often. In all honesty, I'd love to do that. I like writing this story, but my unique blend of ADHD and OCD refuse to simply sit by and allow me to do things I'd like. They're all like, "No, I don' think so. I do have twenty ideas for new stories that you can write a couple chapters of and never post." I swear to you people that I must have a hundred stories that I've never posted simply because I doubt I'll ever finish them, and some of them are pretty good. That said, I'm not abandoning this story.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia or affiliated media.**

 **Chapter 11: President Midoryia?**

"Morning Darling!"

Izuku groaned slightly, "Ya know, you are starting to take this boyfriend joke a bit too seriously."

The pinkette merely stuck her tongue out at him, "Sometimes you have to give the people what they want."

"People don't _want_ us together. They just mistakenly think we are," he corrected.

"And are you saying that you haven't said or done anything that might lead them to think that," Mina questioned with an amused 'hmm' sound.

At that moment, Izuku found something to add to his 'Shit I Don't Like' list. He did not like losing arguments, loud idiots with strong opinions, people who talk during the movies, the three minutes you have to wait for cup ramen to be ready, people who intolerant of other people's cultures, not to mention the Dutch, those are a given. Losing an argument to Mina, however, was something the boy found he truly could not stand. Oh yeah, that was a chart-topper.

A smug look of victory crossed the girl's face as she assumed her new favorite position; standing behind a seated Izuku and hugging his head into her chest. While it had been admittedly embarrassing for the young man at first, it was something he had quickly gotten used to. Sure, he still didn't see the bright ball of fluffy pink energy as his girlfriend, but he could certainly see the perks to it.

Class began moments later as Aizawa had once more made himself known in his sleeping bag, aka caterpillar form. As the teacher made his basic announcements, Izuku trailed off a bit. He had been spending the last few nights developing new tech for his armor.

Already his suit had an impressive number of functions and a few optional weapons, but most of the functions were autonomous survival functions. His only real weapons were his repulsor cannons, mini-missiles, and his rail gun which was only for emergencies as it would likely kill a man. He needed more flexibility in his arsenal.

Then an idea struck. What he was really missing was a melee option. He had no weapons for direct combat if an enemy got close other than his repulsors. Still, that left him with a lot of options. A bladed weapon such as a sword or knife would be good, but perhaps a bit too deadly. A hammer could work but those were overly cumbersome and left you a bit too open should you miss. His suit didn't leave him the kind of mobility for something like a staff or a spear to be useful. He needed to figure out how to have a close-range weapon that could be blunt and sharp.

That's when it hit him. He could use a…

"Izuku Midoriya is our class president and Momo Yaoyorozu is our vice president," announced the teacher.

That certainly got the preoccupied teen's attention, "Hold on, say what now?"

Aizawa sighed and gave him an irritated look, "If you had been paying attention you'd know that we were voting on class president. Guess what kid, you won."

"Who the hell would vote for me?!"

The moment Iida opened his mouth Izuku's stomach dropped, "I proudly voted for you Midoriya. As much as I wanted the position myself, I can't help but think that you are better suited for it. Our president should be our best student, someone who we can all rally behind, a shining pillar that stands tall among us. Who is more deserving than the first quirkless student who stands above the rest of us."

"No way in hell is that damn nerd better than me," shouted an irate blond that everyone was already learning to ignore.

"I voted for you too," chipped in his excitable best friend.

' _Figures she did. Still, there has to be at least one more'._

When no one else spoke up, Izuku looked around, "Who else?"

"You did silly," chirped the pinkette.

Confused he looked at her, "I did?"

"Well," Mr. Aizawa cleared his throat, "Technically she raised your hand for you since you weren't paying attention. Usually, I wouldn't count that, but something tells me you don't want to do this, so I'm good with it."

The quirkless teen felt like a ton of bricks had just fallen on his head. It wasn't hard to figure that most of them must have voted for themselves. He had no clue where Momo had even gotten her second vote from.

Jumping up in front of the class, Izuku stared at them, "You guys can't want me to be your president."

Surprisingly, no one really seemed against the idea. It baffled the mind. Didn't they realize he had called them all out days ago? He had even tried to get another student to quit being a hero altogether.

"Seriously guys, I'd make a horrible president," Izuku sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, "Look, there are plenty of other top students who are way more passionate then I am. Take Bakugan here."

Miniature explosions went off as the teen growled, "That's not my name!"

"Koga?"

"Hell no!"

"Mitsuki?"

"That's my mom's name," by now the blond looked ready to erupt.

"I've got it," Izuku exclaimed, driving his left fist into the other open palm before gesturing to the explosive quirk user, "Vote for Pedro!"

"Raaahhhhhh," Bakugo screamed in rage before lunging at Izuku, only to be restrained by Kirishima.

The continuous explosions around his body eventually set off the fire sprinklers, effectively soaking everyone in the classroom. Most of the class moaned about it while Tsuyu looked oddly pleased.

Aizawa simply sighed, "Whatever. Get dried off and go to lunch. Class dismissed."

 **-Lunchroom-**

Izuku found himself sitting with an odd collection of his classmates. When he'd grabbed an empty table he figured that it would just be him, and maybe Mina. The arrival of Tsuyu, soon after, hadn't exactly been unwelcome. The girl was interesting and had a fascinating quirk. Not to mention that she was far more collected than most of their classmates.

The addition of the invisible girl had been a surprising one. After their 'encounter' one would think that the girl would've kept her distance, but unless Izuku was mistaken it seemed like Toru was hanging around _more_ often. He wasn't certain what that was about, but it was probably best to let the girl have her way.

Jiro and Momo arrived together next. The two seemed to be talking amiably with one another. They were an interesting pair, the punk and the princess, royal and rebel, that sort of thing. Still, Momo didn't seem to be going away. It seemed like the creation quirk user saw Izuku as someone who she shared things in common with considering their family's interests, and the girl desperately wanted friends. Jiro was either here because of the impression he'd made during the training, or for Momo, Izuku honestly wasn't sure.

Either way, the boy's quiet lunch was shot. Still, he felt that he had little to complain about considering that his two least favorite people weren't here and the food was so good. Seriously, the fact that there was a cooking pro hero was something even Izuku could get behind.

"So, you're all here," Izuku stated dryly.

His comment earned him a swat from Mina, "Don't say it like that. You should be like, 'you're all here!' They need to know that you're happy they're here."

 _'So, you want me to lie to them?'_

Tsuyu chuckled a bit as Izuku sighed, "You really should be used to her by now."

"Ya know, you'd think so, but her excitement just wears me out. Not to mention this whole class president fiasco. I mean, I'm here to train to become a hero, not to organize classroom information and help the teacher after class," the genius groaned.

Momo straightened up a bit, "What do you mean Izuku? Being class president is a great honor. Don't you feel a sense of pride at having been voted for by your peers? It is the mark of a great leader."

"Yeah, I mean, you totally rocked that hero versus villain match. I doubt anyone could say you aren't one of the best students in our class," Jiro remarked.

The green-haired boy waved her off, "They don't know me well enough for that. Sure, maybe next year it'll mean something, but we've known each other for less than a month. By the end of the year we could all realize we hate each other. Take Toru here, it's the hardest for her to make that first impression being that she's invisible, but if you ask me the way she was willing to risk personal harm for Mineta during that test makes her the most qualified to be our class president right now."

Quiet reigned at the table for a moment, everyone taking a second to consider what Izuku had said. It was true that being voted class president right now didn't amount to much. It wasn't like they were going to any schooling after this so it wasn't something to put on a transcript. The silence had carried on for a few moments before perhaps the least likely person broke it.

"I think," Toru started before hesitating for a second, "I think you'll be great. I mean, I'll admit I was a bit scared of you for a bit after what happened. That changed when I heard what you said to Mineta, how you were worried about him and stuff. Then I thought about the way you acted after our quirk evaluation and it made me think about why you really said that stuff. I figure you must care a lot, ya know, and I think that its what makes you the best choice for president."

Izuku went wide-eyed and even put his glasses on so that he could see the invisible girl. She was blushing, that was pretty certain. (AN: He can't see her blushing, it's thermal sensors in the glasses that showed her cheeks heating up.) It made the teen realize how easy it is to make an impression on someone without even realizing it. The vision was soon distorted by a perky cheer missile.

"Oh my gosh Toru, that was so sweet. I knew that pretty soon everyone would see just how wonderful my Izu is. Welcome to the club," chirped Mina.

Being just as excitable as Mina, or close enough, Toru started bouncing with the girl as they shared a hug. Izuku had decided just to ignore this and go back to eating. This was officially labeled as a moment that there was no use getting involved in. He had no idea what she meant by "club" and didn't really want to. If only everyone felt that way.

The semi-desperate to be involved Momo stood quickly and approached the two, "What club? Is it something I can join?"

Jiro lowered her head, shaking it back and forth. If you paid attention though, you could see that she was blushing slightly. What the head-jack girl was thinking was anyone's guess.

Mina tapped her chin thoughtfully for a moment, seemingly taking this very seriously, "Aren't you like his rival or something though?"

Izuku endeavored to ignore the nonsense. He just wanted to eat his lunch and pray this didn't turn into something. A tapping on his shoulder from Tsu came next. His mouth full of food, Izuku merely cocked his head sideways and raised an eyebrow.

"Does this mean you have two girlfriends now," Tsu questioned in her usual monotone with a finger on her chin that made everything sound and look serious.

Her question was met with Izuku choking on his food, "N-No, I don't have two girlfriends now. There is no girlfriend club. It's just Mina."

Once the words left his mouth the teen inventor froze.

' _Did I just say what I think I said?'_

Without giving him a second to correct himself, Izuku found his head now surrounded in its new cushion. He couldn't even see as half his face was covered as the girl hugged him tightly. Truthfully, Izuku was half-thankful for his current placement considering his ears were covered and he could still hear the high-pitched squeal Mina was making.

"I knew you loved me Tony, I just knew it. It was love at first sight," Mina laughed and swooned.

Now Izuku found himself in an interesting situation. He could tell that Mina didn't mind the thought of them dating, and he found himself less and less bothered by the idea. Still, she was embellishing things a bit. It seemed that calling him Tony Stark was now a thing she did to let him know she was screwing with him, and that made him realize that the two already shared a slew of inside jokes.

"Sure thing Pepper. Don't know if I'd call it love at first sight though. More like I got a parasite that I've just learned to live with," he snarked.

"I'm going to ignore that hurtful remark since you are the first one of us to actually say we're in a relationship and not just agree with others. So, I win," she countered smugly.

Izuku's grumbling was met with a round of laughter around the table. He wanted to argue, but he honestly couldn't think of a time that she straight up said they were in a relationship. She may have implied it or simply not denied it, but never stated it outright. Oh, a smug Mina was something he could not allow to stand.

Simply deciding to roll with it Izuku just snorted, "Well, I did put a ring on it."

Seeing as Mina had already told the full story on the class' group chat the girls just cooed a bit while Mina dug her face into the top of his head in embarrassment. His wild mane of hair managing to hide the lilac filling her cheeks. It amused him how that one still made her blush. He didn't even realize he'd reached out and taken her hand until she'd squeezed his back. It was one of those rare perfect moments that simply couldn't be rui-

* **ALARM BLARES***

Over a hundred students start shuffling around within moments in a disorganized panic. Izuku held Mina back from the mob so that he might be able to figure things out. So many questions were being asked while there were no answers to be had. Mina looked at him curiously but wisely remained silent as he figured things out.

As the pair made their way towards a wall Izuku finally saw it. Out of the corner of his eye movement caught his attention and he noticed the mass of media presence that had somehow made it past the security of the main gate. It didn't make any sense and his mind screamed that something more was going on. Still, that could be dealt with later.

"Mina," Izuku half-shouted over the noise, "This whole alert is because of the reporters!"

The pink-haired girl was clearly confused until she noticed what he was pointing towards. She nodded to him and tried to pull their friends over or flag them down. It was Momo who finally asked the question.

"So what do we do? Everyone is in a panic and someone is bound to get hurt."

Izuku thought for a moment before he noticed ear-jack girl in the group once more, "Jiro, I'm going to need your help."

"Me," the punk girl questioned.

Izuku nodded, "Niko, systems on."

As the green and gold armor swept over the teen he picked Jiro up and began to fly over the crowd of students. As he got to the end of the hallway he'd attracted a lot of attention, but there was still chaos.

"Alright, Jiro do you have those wireless speakers I've seen you carrying around," his question was answered by a nod as the girl dug them from her pockets, "Great. Now, I'm going to boost them a bit but I need you to hook into them and get everyone's attention."

"Get their attention how," she cried out in confusion and slight embarrassment.

"I don't care, just do it!"

Izuku went quickly to work before giving the girl the go-ahead, another set of speakers were now on the armored shoulders. Jiro looked a bit nervous but nodded back. Taking a deep breath she bellowed out over the crowd.

"Hey **morons**! Shut the hell up!"

Yelling in such a situation normally wouldn't have done much good, but insulting the masses has a very amusing way of garnering attention, even over panic. The girl's friends all snickered as attention was now redirected at the pair. Izuku now took over and projected his voice through the speakers on his shoulders.

"Attention easily startled lemmings who think they have what it takes to be heroes, this is a false alarm. Apparently one of those news reporters decided jail time sounded like a good idea and broke in through the main gate. You can see them if you look out the windows. Now, I need you all to calm the hell down and pretend like you actually belong here by filing to your class in an orderly manner. Behave like the heroes we're training to become, this is UA damn it!"

Izuku's orders were swiftly followed, partially because he was right, and partially because he looked damn intimidating in a flying suit of armor. As he made his way back over to his friends they started cheering for the pair. The green-eyed boy only chuckled as he deactivated his suit.

It was another comment from Tsuyu who brought everything back full circle, "And that is why you are our class president."

 **-NextGen Industries-**

"Hey, where's this order going? It's set to ship next week."

A dock worker looked over the manifest, "Oh, this is too good. Hey, see if we can get Midoriya to take this shipment out for us."

The coworkers chuckled as they looked over the destination and knew this would be funny. They had no clue how unfunny the whole situation would be.

 **A/N: So, truth time, I was hoping to cover the USJ event in this chapter, but oh boy. That would make the chapter waaaaay too long. That said, I've been waiting for this point for the whole story. I've had a vision of how I want this to play out and it will be beautiful. Izuku vs. Nomu, how do you think this will go down?**


End file.
